


Painted Skies

by sablier_bloque



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Community: spn_j2_bigbang, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-10
Updated: 2011-04-10
Packaged: 2017-10-17 20:40:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/180980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sablier_bloque/pseuds/sablier_bloque
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared Padalecki, Pre-Vet student, receives a summer internship to work at the Ackles' Quarter Horse Ranch. Jared isn't quite sure that he and the owners' 23-year-old son, Jensen, are going to hit it off. Yet after Jared sticks up for Jensen in an arbitrary bar fight, Jensen starts showing Jared the ropes of the ranch. As their friendship grows, their attraction to one another does as well, despite Jensen's struggles with his sexuality. Jared and Jensen learn each other and about the hardships of life and love all under the blistering heat of the Texas sun. Written for spn_j2_bigbang 2009.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Painted Skies

Jared puts his printed directions on the steering wheel one more time, trying to glance down long enough while driving to make sure he hasn’t been on this road too long. He forgot to look at the odometer when he took the last right, so he really isn’t sure whether or not he has already passed the ranch.

It’s quiet out here; sparse. The grass is browning from lack of rain and the sun is starting to make its way west. And it’s hot as hell, of course – it’s summer in Texas. Jared’s used to the heat because he’s lived in this state his whole life; but the free space, the quiet that’s almost deafening, it’s a whole new ball game for him. He grew up in San Antonio and is going to school in Austin; Jared knows concrete covered by high-rises, honking horns, and tourists.

Jared sees two men loading a horse onto a trailer on the right side of the road. He figures they probably know something about the area so he slows the truck and rolls down his window.

“Hi, excuse me,” Jared calls, leaning across the seat.

Both of the men turn around and lean forward a little to better see Jared. They’re both tan – hours of working in the sunlight evident on their skin, and yeah, they’re both easy on the eyes. Especially the one on the left, whose hand is still resting on the horse and whose eyes are so green that Jared can see their color from 15 feet away.

“Yes?” the man asks, small, shy grin on his face as if he knows that Jared’s giving him a good onceover, but he’s too timid to call him on it. Jared doesn’t think he’s being obvious, but he’s never been the subtlest person on earth.

“I was just wondering if I was going the right way towards Ackles Ranch?”

“You are!” the other man says. He’s got dark hair that curls at the nape of his neck and a bright smile. “Actually we—”

“It’s up ahead on your left in about two miles,” the first one interrupts.

“Thanks,” Jared says, sitting back up.

“Don’t mention it.”

Jared pulls back onto the road, and sure enough, another couple of miles and he sees the familiar iron sign with a horseshoe hanging from the bottom. He turns onto the dirt road, slowing down to make it a bit easier on the truck.

He has been to Ackles Quarter Horse Ranch once before, but he didn’t drive last time. Professor Morgan drove from Austin when he brought Jared here for the internship interview. Jared had been nervous – palms a little sweaty because he actually had a chance to get an internship for the Pre-Veterinary program as an undergrad _freshman_. Well, it’s not exactly a _veterinary_ internship – he’s working at a ranch, not a vet – but he’s working with animals and Dr. Morgan says it is still a great opportunity.

Alan Ackles shook Jared’s hand with a smile, taking in the khakis and blue button-up Jared wore for the interview, and he laughed. “That’ll be the last time you’ll wear something like that on the ranch.”

And that was that. No five-year plan questions or inquiries about GPA; Jared had a summer internship simply because Alan said he trusted Dr. Morgan’s judgment.

He parks in front of the blue, two-story farmhouse, and when he runs up the steps, Alan is already waiting at the front door. Alan is tall, but shorter than Jared, with dark hair that’s graying at the temples and a strong jaw.

“Jared!” he holds his hand out and Jared grips it with his own.

“Hey, Alan. How are you doing?”

“Great, great. The drive from Austin okay?” Alan walks into the house and Jared follows suit.

“I stayed with my family for a week after finals, so I actually came from San Antonio.”

Alan stops in his tracks. “Don’t tell me you’re a Spurs fan.”

Jared laughs. “Yes, sir.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have trusted Jeff after all. Jesus, a Spurs fan on my ranch.”

“Alan please,” a woman interrupts. “You and the boys have been bickering about sports all day. Let’s give it a rest.”

He introduces Jared to his wife, Donna, because Jared didn’t meet her last time. Actually, when Jared came for his interview in March, he only met Alan and Jim, who is one of the ranch hands.

Donna doesn’t even come up to Jared’s shoulder. Her clothes are plain, but he’d expect that on a ranch. She’s a little curvier than his mother and she has short, blonde hair and glasses on her face.

“Alan, I think they need some help out in Stable Five,” Donna says after Jared politely refuses her offer for a glass of sweet tea or a cup of coffee. “You go and check that out and I’ll give Jared a tour around here. When Jensen and Tom get back, they can show him around the stables.”

“Alright,” Alan replies. “See you in a bit, Jared.”

Donna takes Jared immediately to the kitchen. It’s large, and Jared wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the biggest room in the house. There is an industrial-sized oven, a large porcelain sink and so much counter space Jared can just imagine his mom drooling over it. The cramped space of the city never allowed them to have something as large as this. Of course, if his mom’s kitchen was like Donna’s, Chad would probably _never_ leave, and then she’d kill both of them.

“Everyone has lunch in the house everyday. On the weekends we have breakfast here, but breakfasts throughout the week and dinners are in your hands. We think it’s good for the kids to have family dinners every night. Of course, they aren’t quite kids anymore. Josh is gone, Jensen’s 23, and Mackenzie is 16.

“Anyways, I’m rambling a bit here. You fend for yourself in the morning, but usually Jim fixes dinner for you boys unless he’s out of town. So you don’t have to worry about fiddling around in the kitchen if that isn’t your thing. I suppose a college boy like yourself is used to heading to the meal hall instead of whipping something up in the kitchen.”

Jared grins. “Yes, ma’am. Kitchens and I don’t exactly mix.”

“Let me show you the common house.” Donna leads Jared out the kitchen door where he sees another house about 100 yards away, painted the same blue as the farmhouse, though it is only one story instead of two.

“So do you work with the horses too?” Jared asks as they walk toward the common house.

“Oh, sure. Everyone does. Even Mackenzie helps out during the summer and when she gets out of school in the afternoons. She likes to help Allison and Erica with show training, which is what they’re doing right now. All of the hands help with exercise, training, feeding, and of course, mucking out the stalls. This time of day there really isn’t anyone in the common house unless someone has the day off. Right now, Jensen and Tom are trying to find a horse that escaped and most everyone else is at Stable Five.”

Donna opens the door, and they walk into a common area with a couple of couches and a TV. To the left is an entrance to the kitchen, which is significantly smaller than the one in the farmhouse.

“Your room is back here,” she says. “It’s not very big, but I’m sure it’s bigger than the dorm room you’ve been staying in, and you don’t have to share this one.”

She’s right; it is larger and the bed is bigger than the twin he was stuck with. Plus, there’s no roommate, so Jared’s pretty happy.

“This is great,” Jared says as he walks to the window, and he sees a couple of the white stables that are a good two-minute walk from the common house.

“Good, I’m glad you like it. You can bring your truck back to the common house and one of the boys can help you bring your stuff in here. Good luck getting any of them to help you unpack though.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I don’t need help unpacking.”

“Hey, Mom? You in here?” A voice calls from what Jared guesses is the common area.

“Back here!” Donna calls. She steps out into the hall and Jared follows her. He looks up and has to do a double take, because it turns out Donna’s son is one of the guys Jared just saw on the road – the one who caught Jared’s eyes lingering a little too long.

“Hi,” Jared says, surprise evident in his voice. Jensen – that’s his name, right? – looks up and his eyes widen slightly.

“Uh, hey.” He kisses Donna’s cheek and then points his thumb at Jared. “This the new guy?”

“Uh huh. Jared, this is our son, Jensen.”

Jared shakes Jensen’s hand. “Nice to meet you.” _Even though we’ve already met_ , Jared thinks. Really, what was the point of acting like you just happened to know where the ranch is when your parents own it?

“You too. We got the horse back. He really didn’t wander that far off. Tom’s putting him back in the stall now, and Dad told me to come tell you.”

“Good. He okay?” Donna asks.

“Yeah, yeah. He’s not hurt at all, which is surprising compared to the number he did on the stall door. Chris already has a makeshift door in place until we can get a new one.”

Jared feels like he’s heard 20 names since he’s gotten here, and he isn’t sure how he is going to keep up with everyone.

“Listen, honey,” Donna says, “would you mind finishing up Jared’s tour? He still hasn’t seen the stables or any other part of the ranch, and I’ve got to start on dinner.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And if you see Mackenzie, tell her she needs to start on her homework.”

“Is she with Ally and Erica?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll take Jared over there too. You ready, man?”

Jared nods. “Yeah. Thanks, Donna.”

“No problem.” She smiles. “See you later.”

Jensen turns around and Jared follows him out the door. Jared’s curious as hell as to why Jensen didn’t mention that he lived or worked on the ranch, but he thinks it’s an awkward question, so he decides to leave it for now.

“Is the horse okay?” Jared asks instead. He already knows the answer, but he’s not sure what else to say, and the walk to the stables is too long for complete silence.

“Yeah, he’s fine. Horses get out every once in a while, which isn’t a big deal. Normally they will just roam around the ranch, but he actually hit the road. We keep the gate open in the day for customers, so it wasn’t hard for him to get out.”

It’s quiet again, and Jared’s following almost next to but slightly behind Jensen. Jared is a social guy, he does great at parties and he can talk to anyone about anything, but he just doesn’t know what to say to Jensen and the silence feels awkward.

“Have you worked on a ranch before?” Jensen asks. Jensen is walking slowly toward the stables as if they’re in no hurry at all.

“No. I took a few riding lessons when I was a kid, but besides knowing how to ride, I’m in the dark.”

Jensen looks back and smirks. “This might be an asshole question, but why did Dad hire you if you don’t know anything about horses?”

What is it with this guy anyway? First the thing at the road, and now the rude question. This is his boss’ son though, so Jared decides to just let it slide.

“I was looking for an internship. I’m a pre-vet student at UT, and I figure the more experience I can get with animals, the better. No vet is going to hire an undergrad freshman though, so one of my professors talked to your dad, and he’s helping me out. Plus, being an equine veterinarian isn’t that bad of an idea living in Texas.”

“Huh,” Jensen says, and Jared doesn’t understand what that’s supposed to mean. “So you wanna be an equine vet?”

Jared shrugs. “Maybe. I guess that depends on how well I do here this summer.”

They reach the first stable on the left and Jensen turns around to face him. He cocks his head toward the stable, giving a small smile and his eyes are so green and bright that they make Jared’s stomach flip-flop.

Why does someone so cute have to seem like such a jerk?

“So this is Stable One, where we keep the family and work horses. This is a quarter horse ranch, and quarters are your most popular breed. We do a lot of work with rodeo cowboys and people who do horse shows, because they’re good animals for that.

“We have six stables all together with 12 stalls in each. There’s a whiteboard in the common house that has a schedule of who’s doing what each day. We all muck the stalls and we all exercise the horses, it just depends when and where. We’ve got a few more hands that work here than what we’ve got in the common house, because they live off the ranch.”

Before coming here, Jared was expecting barns with slots for horses, but these are much more open than that. There aren’t actual walls, just framing to support the roof and the stall separators.

Jensen walks over to the third stall on the left and opens up the door. He motions for Jared to follow him and when he moves closer, he sees Jensen patting the neck of a horse. It looks almost white, but the coloring is just a little too dark for it. Small, gray spots cover the horses’ shoulders and its mane and tail are both gray as well.

“This is my horse,” Jensen says, leaning his forehead against its neck as he rubs its sides.

“What’s its name?”

“Indigo, but I call her Indy.”

“Can I…” Jared holds out his hand as he asks.

“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead.” Jensen steps away from Indigo and Jared tentatively runs the back of his hand along her jaw. He steps forward, his hand moving firmer against her coat, and she butts her snout against his neck. It tickles, so Jared laughs and steps back.

“How old is she?”

“About six years old. She’s not even a quarter horse, but I saw her at an auction and I just had to have her.” Jensen pulls something out his pocket and feeds it to her. He pats her neck as she finishes chewing, and once again, Jared just doesn’t understand this guy. He seems evasive and rude, but he’s so… gentle with the horse. Who knows? Maybe he just sucks with people.

Jensen gives Indigo one more pat, and then walks out of the stall and waits until Jared follows to close the door.

“Everyone on the ranch has their preferred horse even though we work with all of the horses here. Some of the hands actually own their own horses or they’re just borrowing from the ranch. We’ll find you one tomorrow that you like.” Jensen stops walking and faces Jared, his eyes moving up and down Jared’s frame. “We’ll have to get you a big horse, ‘cause you’re pretty fucking huge, man.”

Jared laughs and fuck, he’s actually blushing, as if that stupid comment was some sort of compliment.

“You know, since you’re doing a veterinary deal, your main man that you want to talk to is going to be Tom. He’s the ranch’s farrier.”

“The ranch’s what?”

“Farrier.” Jensen leads them right past the second stable and heads toward the third. “He shoes the horses, but he also knows a bit about veterinary stuff pertaining to horses. A farrier’s nice to have around so you don’t have to call a vet every time you have a little problem. Tom’s able to handle most of the small things.” They enter the third stable and Jared sees the other guy Jensen was with when Jared stopped on the road. “Hey, Tom,” Jensen says, as Tom is shutting the door to one of the horse stalls. He’s wearing leather chaps over his jeans and there’s dirt smeared across his face that wasn’t there when Jared saw him earlier.

“Hey, Jen.” Tom looks over to Jared and smiles as recognition hits his face. “Hey, you’re the guy who asked for directions.”

“Yeah, I’m Jared.”

“He’s doing a vet internship here over the summer,” Jensen says, “So I figured you’re the man to talk to.”

“Sure, sure, “ Tom says, extending his hand to shake Jared’s. The guy is all smiles, and Jared instantly knows he is one of those people that everyone likes. He exhales a sigh of relief; if he will be spending a lot of time with Tom learning the medical ropes of the ranch, at least he will be dealing with a really nice guy.

“You might work with me shoeing some days, but in the afternoons, I do vaccinations or check on any horses the other guys say seem a little off or unhealthy. We’ll arrange for you to not have other jobs during those times. Sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds great,” Jared answers.

“Well,” Jensen says, patting Tom on the shoulder. “I’m going to finish giving him the tour. Later, man.”

“Later,” Tom says, turning around and Jared and Jensen follow suit. “Wait, Jen, you still going to Mike’s thing tonight?”

“Yeah, just come to the house when you’re ready to go.”

“Okay, and Jared, you should come too.”

“Uh, sure,” Jared says. “What are we doing exactly?”

“I’ll tell you all about it,” Jensen calls behind him as he walks out of the stable.

///

Jared’s not usually very good with names, but he thinks he’s doing okay. He remembers the girls because there are only three of them – Erica, Allison (introduced as Allison, though Jensen calls her Ally) and Jensen’s sister, Mackenzie. The guys are a different matter: Tom he remembers, and Jim too since that’s Jared’s main food source on the ranch, but there’s that one guy with the long hair whose name he just can’t place.

Jim cooked dinner just like Donna said – homemade mac and cheese that wasn’t as good as his momma’s, but it was pretty damn close. Donna sent over a blueberry pie that turned Jared into absolute mush, and he’d offer her his firstborn if he thought she’d want him.

Tom helped Jared move his boxes from his truck to his car after dinner. He offered to help Jared unpack, but Jared has always liked to do that on his own.

Jared really only brought necessities – clothes, shoes, toiletries, his laptop, which, yeah, isn’t a necessity per say, but what 18-year-old American can live without one? He doubts they even have WiFi, but he thought it wouldn’t hurt to try. And it’s not like Jared’s going to have a hell of a lot of free time anyway – doing all of the work Donna talked about plus Tom’s duties in the afternoons.

That’s okay though. Jared likes the outdoors for the most part, even though Texas is hotter than hell this time of year. The ranch is really beautiful and he’s psyched to get to know more about horses in general. Being a vet in Texas means horses are a big part of the clientele even if he doesn’t specialize in the equine field.

Jared hears a knock, and he gets up from the floor and steps over a box to get to the door. Tom’s standing there, obviously just out of the shower, since the dirt on his face from before is gone and his dark hair is still damp.

“Hey, man, you ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Jared replies, moving to put his shoes back on. Jensen made a comment that he’s going to need some boots as soon as possible, and yeah, Jared is probably the only person in Texas that doesn’t have a pair – whether work ones or cowboy ones. He had some when he was a kid – too excited to be taking riding lessons to not have a pair of cowboy boots. And what Texas boy didn’t grow up wanting to be a cowboy? Jared cocks a grin because he sort of is a cowboy now – albeit temporarily.

They’re going out to some bar tonight to celebrate their friend Mike’s victory at a rodeo he had last night in Dallas. Jensen told him that Michael comes around the ranch a lot because he keeps his horses there, and apparently he and Tom are close because Mike comes to see him a lot too.

“I always feel as if I have to give a disclaimer when I introduce people to Mike,” Jensen said earlier as he led Jared to the training area.

Jared laughed. “I have to do the same with my friend, Chad.”

“I don’t even know how to describe him. He’s a fucking amazing guy, but there’s no filter from brain to mouth. And he’s somehow awesome at taming horses. I don’t know if it’s because he’s as crazy as they are, but he’s good at it. He’s awesome at rodeoing.”

Jensen ended up not being as bad as Jared thought. Maybe Tom broke the ice, or maybe he trusts his horse’s instincts or something. He didn’t talk a hell of a lot, but it wasn’t bad.

“Erica went to pick Mike up a bit ago,” Tom says now as Jared grabs his keys and shuts the door behind him. “Knowing him, he’s going to get trashed tonight, so he’s going to need the DD.”

They go outside and Allison, Jim, Jensen, and that guy with shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair whose name he can’t remember are waiting for them.

“Jared, do you mind driving?” Tom asks.

“No, not at all.”

“Okay, Jensen, you want to ride with him?”

“That’s fine.” Jensen moves from the post he was leaning against and walks toward Jared’s truck.

“I’ve got room for everyone else in my truck. Chris, Ally called shotgun this morning.”

Chris. That’s his name.

“Fuck, Ally, you called it this morning? You’re so lame sometimes.”

“Ha!” Allison yells, almost dancing up to him. “You’re just pissed that you didn’t call it first.”

“Get in the car.”

“We’ll see you guys there,” Tom says.

Jared and Jensen get into the truck and follow Tom’s down the dirt trail to the road.

“I’ve been waiting for them to hook up since we were in high school,” Jensen says.

“Allison and Chris?”

“Yeah. They’ve been like this for years. Always together, always bickering, but not mean-heartedly. He was always so protective of her in school, always chasing away her boyfriends.”

“So why doesn’t he go for it?”

“I don’t know. He never talks about it. Honestly, I think he’s scared shitless of fucking it up. He’s not exactly known for his grace with women.”

“You think he ever will?”

“He’s got to eventually; he won’t let anyone else near her.”

“That has to piss her off.”

“Yeah,” Jensen says, grin evident in his voice even though Jared’s eyes are on the road. “At first… she won’t talk to him for a couple of days, but it’s all for show, man. She eats it up.”

Tom makes a left turn at a light once they get into town, but Jared loses him once it turns red.

“It’s all right. I know how to get there. Just turn left and it’s up ahead after a couple of miles.” Jensen straightens his legs out a bit. “Do you want to drive back tonight, or do you want me to?”

“I don’t have a fake ID,” Jared answers, feeling slightly embarrassed that he’s the youngest one in this group of people.

“Dude, our friend Steve owns the bar. You’re fine.”

“I don’t mind driving back. You should celebrate with your friends.”

“Alright,” Jensen grins. “Thanks, man. Listen, before we get there, you should probably know that Tom and Mike, are… er, together.”

“As in dating?”

“Yeah?” Jensen sounds like he’s asking, as if he’s waiting for the eventual freak out on Jared’s part.

Jared shrugs. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Jared replies. And it is. Jared told his parents his senior year that he might be bisexual, and though he doesn’t have as much experience with guys as he does girls, it doesn’t mean the desire isn’t there. At this point, he’s leaning more toward gay, but he doesn’t want to rule out other possibilities. So there’s no way he’d judge Tom and Mike for being together. “Does it bother you?” Jared asks, and he turns to look at Jensen since they’re stopped at another red light.

“Not really,” Jensen says and he turns to look out the passenger side window. Jared believes him but he looks uncomfortable as hell.

“Are we close to the bar?” Jared asks, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, it’s up ahead on the right.”

He parks next to Tom’s truck just as Tom and the gang are getting out of it, and he sees Erica and, he guesses, Mike walk up to them. Mike looks like a stereotypical rodeo boy: button down shirt, tight jeans, and actual cowboy boots. He doesn’t have a hat on, but Jared’s sure it’s not far away.

“Tommy, have you missed me?” Mike asks, enveloping Tom in a hug.

“I did until you called me that.” They’re both grinning ear-to-ear, obviously happy to see one another, but they’re not overly affectionate. Jared didn’t expect that they would be though; this is Texas after all.

“Congrats on your win, man,” Jensen says as he and Jared step closer.

“Jenny, you should have seen that bull. You would have pissed yourself.” Mike holds his hands out like he’s holding a grapefruit in each. “The _cojones_ on this thing –”

“I don’t particularly pay attention to bulls’ balls.”

“Watch it, Jensen.”

“Whatever, man.” Jensen claps Jared on the shoulder. “This is Jared. He’s working at the ranch this summer.”

“Hey, I’m Mike. You liking the ranch so far?”

“Haven’t started yet, but it seems like a good place,” Jared answers, putting his hands in his pockets.

“You’d better watch out, Mike,” Jensen says. “He’s going to be working with your boy everyday.”

Mike cups the back of Tom’s neck. “Tommy’s a trustworthy boy.”

“Hey,” Tom says, ducking from Mike’s touch. “At least Jared calls me by my real name.” Mike laughs and Tom grins at Jared. Mike might be over the top like Jensen said, but he’s made Jared feel a little better, and definitely seems at ease with Jared being there. Jared smiles back, feeling more relaxed.

“Boys,” Erica pipes up. “I’m thirsty. It’s time to go inside.” She walks up to Mike and puts an arm around his waist. Her long brown hair is thrown into a ponytail, and she’s wearing jeans and boots just like everyone else in this group. Well, besides Jared.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Mike says. “It’s probably a mess in there, though. Steve just kicked some guys out for starting a fight. And don’t forget that you’re driving, Erica! I’m having fun tonight.”

Jensen walks in first, and Jared follows closely behind. He looks behind him, and it seems that everyone else isn’t in a hurry to go in, contrary to what they just said.

The place looks like just about every other bar Jared’s ever been in: dark and smoky with neon beer signs and pool tables in the back. Jensen’s head perks up when he looks at the bar, and he opens his mouth to speak before someone steps in front of him.

“Didn’t you assholes get enough last time?” the guy asks. He’s about Jensen’s height and build, and therefore isn’t a small guy at all. And he’s obviously one pissed off motherfucker, so saying that Jared’s a bit freaked out would be an understatement. Jared remembers the fight that Mike mentioned a minute ago, and his stomach clenches at where this is headed.

“Uh,” Jensen looks over at Jared, eyes questioning and worrying, and Jared shrugs. “Listen, man, I don’t know—“ Jensen can’t finish his thought, because the guy hits Jensen square in the jaw. “What the fuck?” he asks, swaggering a bit and shaking his head. His lip is split, and Jared sees blood drip from the cut before Jensen wipes it away.

“I told your friend to not come in here again, and I meant that for you guys too.” Another guy comes up, even bigger than the first, and he looks like he’s about to take a swing at Jensen as well. Jared doesn’t even think – he just punches the guy in the nose, feeling and hearing it break against his fist.

More people show up, and there’s yelling coming from every direction – cheers, hollers, words of discouragement from some, but Jared can’t tell who’s talking in this mess. Jared’s just trying to get out of this and to make sure Jensen’s not getting his ass kicked. Jensen’s holding his own though, and Jared is sure he’s been in more than one bar fight in the past. This is Jared’s first, and yeah, the adrenaline is pumping and everything is both heightened and fuzzy, but he’s still scared shitless.

He has that asshole against the wall, and he pulls his fist back to let him have it. Then the guy ducks at the last second and Jared’s hand connects painfully with the brick.

“Holy shit,” Jared yells, cradling his right hand with his left. Through the dizziness and nausea from the pain, his brain registers someone pulling him away from the guy, and he looks behind him to see Jim.

“You okay, kid?”

“I think I might have broken my hand.”

“Alright, Steve and his guys will throw out these assholes. Let’s take you outside.”

Jared follows Jim outside, and he sits on the footrest on the bed of his truck.

“Shit, this fucking hurts.”

The door to the bar opens again and the rest of the gang comes out, all following Jensen.

“Jared, man, are you okay?” Jensen walks over to the truck and kneels in front of him. He sees Jared holding his hand and he touches it lightly with both of his own. “Did you break it?”

“I think so.”

Jensen takes it in his hands, turning it over to look at the palm and Jared sucks in a breath as the pain overwhelms him.

“Easy there,” Jensen whispers, and Jared feels the calluses of Jensen’s fingers on the inside of his wrist, hands rough from his life on the ranch. “Get in the truck. I’ll take you to the ER.”

“Want us to meet you there?” Tom asks, reaching for his keys.

“Nah, Tom. This is Mike’s night. You guys stay here, and I’ll go with Jared to the hospital.”

Jared shakes his head. “Jensen you should stay, really.”

“What? You gonna drive yourself with that hand? Just give me your keys.”

Jared stands up to get them out of his pocket, but it’s awkward cause he’s reaching into his right pocket with his left hand. His right hand is quickly swelling, and the skin is turning a dark shade of purple. Jared grits his teeth, it hurts so bad it’s dizzying, and coming down from the fight’s adrenaline rush isn’t making his stomach feel any better.

“Here, I’ll get the door for you,” Jensen says, and he steps around to the side of the truck. Jared feels ridiculous, like he’s a damsel in distress or something, but he just follows him silently and sits down.

“We’ll come check up on you tonight when we get home,” Jim says as he steps toward the truck.

“Thanks, man. I’ll be alright though.”

Jensen shuts the door and walks around to the driver’s side and gets in the truck. He switches on the headlights and turns back onto the road.

“Jared, I’m really sorry you got hurt, but, uh—” he laughs nervously. “Thanks for helping me out.”

Jared laughs a little, forgetting the pain for a second. “That guy was huge, dude. No way I’d just let them attack you like that for no reason.”

“I know, man, but I appreciate it. You totally saved my ass.”

Jared closes his eyes and leans his head against the seat. Pain travels up his arm, and he tries to take deep, slow breaths.

“How are you holding up?” Jensen asks.

“I’m alright. You didn’t exactly come out unscathed yourself, though. You okay?”

“Yeah. Heh, they didn’t get many punches in after the first one.”

Jared didn’t see anyone getting another good swing at Jensen, but it all happened so fast and the details are already getting a bit blurry. Jared’s glad he’s okay though.

“Dude, that guy with the red shirt? You nailed him,” Jared says quietly, eyes still closed.

Jensen laughs. “Yeah. You were pretty badass yourself, college boy. Who knew you had it in you?”

“I didn’t. I’ve never done that before.” He’s in a lot of pain, and his body thinks speaking requires too much concentration right now, but Jensen’s actually _talking_ to him. It’s nice to hear it, nice to feel like Jensen, who was Mr. Evasive six hours ago, is including him in this group.

“Just, don’t tell your momma you’re hanging around the wrong crowd. Jesus, I don’t need some southern mother on my ass for getting her baby’s hand broken.”

Jared laughs softly, and then looks over at Jensen. “How much longer?” he asks, because he can feel his hand swelling even more, and he’s ready for some good pain meds. Jensen leans forward a bit, and Jared can feel the car speeding up a hell of a lot faster than it should be going.

“Couple more minutes, man. We’re almost there.”

///

Jared wakes up to someone patting his shoulder and shaking him gently.

“Wake up, cowboy,” a voice says, and he opens his eyes, squinting them to keep out the sunlight. Jensen is standing above him, fully dressed and looking like he’s been up for a while. His lip is scabbed from the punch it received, dried, dark red so different from the blood that fell from it last night.

“What time is it?” Jared asks, words slurred from sleep and pain medicine. His hand actually doesn’t hurt too badly, but whatever they gave him last night might be helping with that.

“11:30. A little late for your first day on the ranch, but you were so knocked out when you got home last night I figured you’d stay that way for a while.”

“I don’t even remember getting home.” He remembers sitting in the waiting room for ages, multiple triage trips, finally getting X-Rayed and casted, but that’s about it.

“No shit. I had to drag your ass in here.”

Jared looks down and he’s wearing his clothes from the night before, sans shoes, but he’s under the blanket and sheets and the bed was made before he left the night before. He has the sudden mental image of Jensen trying to hold him up or propping him up against the wall ( _”Come on, stay awake. Just lean against the wall.”_ ) before he pulls the blanket down and puts Jared to bed.

“Did I say anything stupid?”

Jensen laughs. “Dude, you should have heard the shit you were saying.”

“Jesus,” Jared groans.

“Nah, man, you were too out of it to talk. I didn’t know they gave shit that intense for a broken hand.”

“I hope they sent some more. I haven’t slept that great since before college.”

Jensen pulls a bottle out of his back pocket. “Picked up your prescription this morning. I think it’s a bit milder than what they gave you in the ER though.”

“Thanks.” Jared takes it from him and sets it on the nightstand. He pulls the blankets back and swings his legs over the side of the bed, trying to tame his bed-head with his fingers. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

“Mom made you breakfast for saving my ass,” Jensen says. “Then we’re going to a ranch to see about this new horse that Dad wants, and we’ve got to buy you some shoes you can actually work in. Who knew you actually lived in Texas?”

“Flip flops are great when it’s hot as armpit outside. Don’t hate.”

“Whatever. Get ready, have breakfast, and come find me. I’ll be mucking out stables in Three or Four.”

“You’re kind of bossy, you know that?” Jared asks, grinning wildly, and he is instantly glad when Jensen returns the smile.

“And you’re kind of my bitch now that you work here.” Jensen turns around and walks out the door. “See ya, man.”

///

“Jared, honey, let me see your hand.”

He’s sitting at the island of the farmhouse’s kitchen, hair still wet from the shower, which was a bitch to take with a hand in a cast. He holds out his hand, and Donna takes it in her own hands. She clicks her tongue and shakes her head.

“I’m sorry my boy got you into that mess.”

“No, ma’am. This wasn’t his fault at all. Those guys were just looking for a fight.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay, all things considered.” She walks over to the oven and pulls a plate out. “It might be a little cool now.” She sets the plate in front of him: pancakes, eggs, sausage, and toast. His body is so happy right now.

“You want some syrup?” she asks.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answers.

“With the exception of your fight, did you have a good time last night?”

“Well, the fight happened right when we walked in. There wasn’t much time to have fun.”

“Jensen said you held your own pretty well.”

Jared smiles. “Yeah, I guess so. He didn’t do too badly himself.”

“Well,” she rolls her eyes, “Jensen’s been in his fair share of bar brawls. He was sneaking out to go with the guys when he was still in high school, and I was tending to his injuries the morning after. Though none of his injuries ended him up at the ER.

“Oh, God, what is your mother going to think?” Donna continues. “You’re here for an internship and you end up in a fight at a bar.”

“I’m not going to tell her how I broke it. I’ll just tell her I fell or got knocked off a horse or something.”

Jared finishes his breakfast, which is great just like everything else he’s eaten here, and thanks Donna at least five times before heading out to the stables.

It’s hot; early June sun high in the sky, and Jared is sweating and thirsty halfway to the stable. His cast is itching like hell, and he’s not sure how he’s going to live in this thing for three weeks. Plus, he’s going to have to walk around everywhere with a water bottle or something. He’s lived here his whole life, but he’s going to be outside all day every day, and he’s not used to that.

He walks into Stable Three and sees Tom leaning over a horse’s hoof, examining it closely.

“Hey Tom,” Jared says.

“Hey!” Tom lets go of the horse’s leg, and pats the horse twice. “How’s the arm?”

“It hurts, but I’m living. Did you guys have a good time last night?”

Tom smiles. “Yeah we really did. Mike deserved to have some fun after all the hard work he’s been doing lately. I’m sorry that you couldn’t stay though. I saw that punch; that must have hurt like hell.”

“Yeah, it did, but I’m glad you guys had a good time.” Jared runs his left hand across the horse’s back. “Listen, have you seen Jensen?”

“Yeah, he’s over in Stable Four.”

“Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Jared walks over to the next stable and finds Jensen and Chris both mucking out separate stalls.

“I almost got into my own fight last night,” Chris says to Jensen, unaware that Jared is there.

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“Some asshole was getting hands-y with Ally, and she had been drinking. He was trying to take advantage of her.”

“Dude, you ever think that maybe she wants to get some action? You keep cock-blocking her. Well, blocking her from the cock. Cunt-blocking?”

Jared leans against the stall’s doorframe and knocks it twice with his knuckle. Jensen turns around and smiles.

“Thank fuck you’re here,” Chris says, obviously glad that Jared intervened during the conversation.

“Hey, just ‘cause we’re leaving, doesn’t mean you’re off the hook on this,” Jensen replies, wiping the dirt from his hands on the ass of his pants. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Aren’t guys supposed to not talk about things?”

Jensen smirks in reply and then walks out of the stall.

“Did Mom play Mother Hen over your hand?”

“She did! It’s wasn’t bad though, and I got breakfast out of it.”

Jensen walks out of the stable towards the common house and Jared follows him.

“I just have to write what we’re doing on the schedule board, and then we’ll head out,” Jensen says.

“That’s good, because I think I left my phone in my room.”

When they get to the common house, Jared runs to get his phone, and when he comes out, Jensen is writing on the “Notes” section of the schedule board that he and Jared are running errands.

“Got it,” Jared says, holding his phone up with his casted hand and then pocketing it. Jensen looks at the cast and then down to his own hand, which holds the board marker, and steps forward.

“Can I sign your cast?” Jensen asks, head tilted down slightly and looking up through his lashes.

“Uh, sure.” Jared holds his arm out as Jensen steps closer. He takes Jared’s arm and moves his body so that he is perpendicular to Jared, his right arm touching Jared’s chest. He looks up as if trying to think about what he’s going to write.

“What are you going to put?” Jared asks, breath touching Jensen’s ear, and it’s in that moment that he realizes how fucking close they’re standing next to one another.

Jensen realizes it too – rolling his shoulders back and taking a small step away. Jared looks at the side of Jensen’s face, seeing how uncomfortable Jensen looks, even in profile. It’s as if he sometimes forgets that he’s shy, and then realizes he’s opening up too soon.

He brings the marker to the cast and scribbles something that Jared can’t see at this angle. He watches Jensen going over the letters again, filling in the spots that are still white from the grooves of the cast’s texture. Jensen steps back and brings Jared’s arm to Jared’s eye level.

“Jensen was _here_ , huh?” Jared asks, and yeah, maybe it sounds a little flirty coming out. Maybe Jared should stop especially with how Jensen acted last night about Tom and Mike’s relationship. Well, he seemed to be okay with them dating, just not the type of relationship itself.

Jensen moves back even more, putting a few feet of space between then.

“Go get yourself some socks for your boots. I’ll be waiting in the truck.”

///

They got Jared’s boots first – _”I’m not taking you to some other ranch wearing fucking flip flops”_ – and then headed to Smith’s Ranch.

It’s huge – probably twice the size of Ackles Ranch, and Jensen says it’s more commercial than their place is. They have a bed and breakfast and Jensen makes the comment that he’s glad his momma didn’t try that business venture.

Jensen drives straight past the visitor area and heads toward the stables.

“Don’t you need to check in, or something?” Jared asks.

“Nah, we do a lot of business with them. Dad has wanted a colt from two of their horses for a long time, and they’ve finally weaned it from its dam, uh, its mom. Dad wants a second opinion, though, before we buy it.”

There’s a dog running alongside the passenger side of the truck as it starts to slow down, and Jared smiles as the dog barks at them.

Jensen parks the truck, and the moment that Jared opens the door and steps out, the dog jumps on him. Jared grins, and pets it behind its ears with his left hand.

“Hey, buddy!” Jared says, and it barks again in response before jumping off of Jared and running circles around them.

“Huh,” Jensen says as he comes around the truck, “they must have gotten a new dog.”

Jared bends down to check its tags for its name, but it is not wearing a collar. “Puppy doesn’t have a collar, do you?” he asks before the dog licks his face.

“It’s a little big for a puppy, don’t you think?”

“It’s so bouncy though. It still must be really young,” Jared says to Jensen and then he turns back to the dog. “What’s your name, huh?”

“She doesn’t have one, as far as we know. She’s a stray,” someone says behind him and Jared stands up to look at her. She’s probably around 40, light blonde hair pulled into a loose ponytail and her boots are caked with dirt.

“Hey, Samantha,” Jensen says, moving to give her a hug. “We came by to look at the colt.”

“I figured.” She cups Jensen’s jaw and laughs. “You’re looking good, Jen. If I were 15 years younger—“

“Oh, cut it out,” Jensen replies, laughing too. “My momma would kick your ass for taking advantage of her baby.”

“And I fear the wrath of Donna Ackles.” She lets go of Jensen and looks to Jared.

“Who’s the new kid?” she asks.

“This is Jared; he’s working at the ranch this summer. Jared, this is Samantha.”

Jared stands up and crosses the few steps it takes to shake her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” he says.

“You too. Seems the puppy likes you a whole lot.”

“Yeah.” He smiles. “She’s really friendly.”

“You can take her if you want. We’ve already got our hands full with two dogs.”

Jared grins even wider, excitement brewing in his gut because he _loves_ dogs, and he’ll have an apartment next year instead of a dorm so he can actually get one now. _Yes_ is on the tip of his tongue but then he remembers –

“Well, I’m living on the ranch, so I don’t think I can take her.”

“Dude, I don’t think it would be a big deal,” Jensen says. “As long as it’s not in the main house, Mom and Dad wouldn’t mind, I don’t think.”

“Really?” Jared asks. He feels about 12 years old right now, excitement evident on his sleeve, and judging by the looks he’s getting from Jensen and Samantha, they’re probably thinking the same thing.

“Yeah. Having a dog around would be pretty cool.” Jensen smiles like he just can’t help it and then tells Samantha that they’re ready to see the horse.

The dog follows them around their entire time at the ranch.

///

“So, what are you going to name her?” Tom asks as he finishes shoeing his last horse of the day.

“Sadie, I think.” He and Jensen went to buy her a collar, a tag, and some dog food and treats while the dog, _Sadie_ , sat patiently in the bed of the truck. When they got back to the ranch, Donna and Alan were just fine with Jared keeping her.

Tom looks up from the horse’s foot and turns to Sadie. “That’s a good name. You going to take her to the vet?”

“Yeah, on my first day off; got to make sure she’s okay.”

Tom nods and pats the horse after he finishes. “Alright, so I’ve only got a couple of horses to immunize today. Some days I don’t have any, but like I said earlier, I usually do this sort of work in the afternoons unless it’s an emergency. And once you learn how to do this, you can take over for my days off. And once a week I make house calls to local horse owners who need shoeing, so you should be able to take care of any minor problems after a while.”

Tom shows him to do an intra-muscular injection, which he says is fairly simple. He lets Jared try on the second horse. He’s a bit nervous, but he doesn’t want the horse to feel that, so he pets her and talks to her for a couple of minutes to calm them both down before injecting her.

“You did a good job,” Tom says. “You seem to be pretty good with animals. Of course, I suppose that’s important when you want to work with them.”

Jared grins. “Yeah, I was always trying to sneak strays into the house when I was a kid, hoping Mom and Dad wouldn’t notice. They always did, of course.”

“I see much hasn’t changed,” Jensen says behind them, and Jared and Tom turn to look at him. He’s leaning against one of the stall railings, arms crossed, looking all smooth and casual and hot as hell with that little smirk on his face.

“Yeah, but I actually got to keep her this time.”

“Did Jared do alright, Tommy?”

“God, that name; I’m going to kill Mike. And yes, Jared did just fine.”

“Alright, cowboy,” Jensen says to Jared, turning his head to face him, “lets find you a pony to ride. Your mutt can come too.”

“Sadie takes offense to that, and so does whatever horse I end up picking.”

“Dude, your animals are really touchy.”

“Maybe you’re just being a jerk,” Jared replies. He’s smiling, but he’s scared Jensen might take offense to it; especially since Jensen displayed some jerk-like tendencies the day before.

“Maybe it’s a bit of both?”

“Maybe.” Jared shrugs. He sighs in relief that Jensen took it as a joke.

They leave Tom, and Jensen leads him to the second stable.

“When was the last time you rode a horse?” Jensen asks.

“Heh, probably about eight years ago.”

“So you were, what, 10? 11?”

“I was about 10, yeah.”

“Well, you’re probably going to need an overview of the basics, yeah? Not to mention, finding you a horse.” Jensen leads him to a stall on the right. “So I thought of the biggest mother-fucking horse we have at the ranch.” Jensen grabs what Jared remembers to be a halter, and opens the stall door, motioning for Jared to follow him. It’s not the biggest horse he’s ever seen – there are bigger breeds than quarter horses – but it’s pretty good-sized. Its coloring is brownish-red, chestnut really, warm and soft on the eyes. It is so different from Jensen’s Indigo, with her smoke-colored body, but gentle presence. This horse wants attention, almost like a human using his size to his full advantage.

“This is Wesson,” Jensen says as he clips the halter into place on the horse’s face. “He had a twin named Smith but we sold him.”

Jared rolls his eyes and laughs. “Seriously, dude? Smith and Wesson?”

“Hell, yeah. Those are awesome names for twins.”

“I’m guessing you named them?”

Jensen winks. “You betcha.” It’s pretty cute, _and so unlike the Jensen from 24 hours ago_ , his mind yells. The guy is driving him insane. “Now, Wesson is about eight. He’s done a few shows and he’s well trained, but he’s still got a cocky attitude if you can’t tell already. He loves MacKenzie and he loves Mike… weird combo if you ask me, but whatever.” Jensen grabs a rope from the wall, and he gives it to Jared.

“That’s your lead rope,” Jensen says. He hooks his index finger into a metal ring on the halter. “Hook it here.” He removes his finger as Jared clasps the halter and rope together. “This is how you lead your horse when you’re walking around. So go on, lead him out of the stall, but you don’t want to pull him around though. You want to stay by his side and just tug a little with your hand.”

It’s really elementary, but Jared is okay with that because he really doesn’t know. His lessons as a kid were short-lived, and his instructor never really taught him this or how to saddle a horse. He just learned to ride. Plus his instructor was a forty-five year old balding guy, and it is safe to say that he had nothing on Jensen. Listening to Jensen giving him instructions isn’t the worst thing he has ever been forced to do.

Jensen shows him how to put on the bridle, taking off the halter first. He makes Jared brush Wesson before they put on the blanket and saddle, following his instructions to make sure the saddle is even on the blanket and to fasten the front cinch first. It is a little awkward to do with Jared’s hand but he manages. Mostly. Jensen comes in after him and straightens the saddle a bit, and then gives Wesson a pat on the back.

“If you want, we can get Indy and I can show you the rest of ranch. We have a lot of land for riding, so you really didn’t get to see everything yesterday.”

“Yeah, that’d be cool.”

Jensen makes Jared saddle Indigo for practice. She seems a little nervous about it, and Jensen says he’s the only one who has ever ridden her, so she’s probably just wondering what’s going on. But Jensen’s talking to her the whole time – about his day and that he’s sorry that it’s been a couple of days since he’s gotten to ride her, petting the bridge of her nose as he speaks. Jared can feel her relax as he brushes her, and he’s able to saddle her with no problem.

“Have you lived here your whole life?” Jared asks. They have been riding leisurely for a few minutes, taking their time to explore the ranch grounds and Sadie is running a bit ahead of them.

“Yeah. Mom and Dad started the ranch when they were really young. It started out really small, but they do good business and are great with horses so it got a lot bigger.”

“Did you go to college?”

Jensen shrugs. “I took a few business classes so that I could know stuff for the ranch, but that’s it. I don’t see much point, ‘cause this is what I want to do. Josh, my older brother, he’s a teacher in Dallas, so I’ll get the ranch when Mom and Dad retire.”

It’s different riding a horse when you’re about two feet taller than the last time you rode one, but it’s not that difficult to get back into the swing of things. The sun is getting lower in the West. They’ve still got a while until it’s dark though since it is summer time. It’s starting to cool off, but Jared’s t-shirt is still a little damp with sweat, and a look over at Jensen shows that his shirt is clingy and damp too.

“Listen,” Jensen says, “I know you’re thinking it’s kind of weird that I didn’t just tell you my family owns the ranch when you pulled over yesterday. I just don’t like to tell a lot of people that.”

“Alright.” He is still being vague as hell, but at least he knows that he was acting weird.

“I just don’t want you thinking I’m a total asshole or anything, ‘cause I’m not.”

“I know, man. It’s not a big deal. You’ve been cool since the fight anyways.”

Jensen smirks. “Well, I’d be a total jerk if I treated you like shit after you saved my ass. But, uh, sometimes I clam up a little, so if I get stand-off-ish all of a sudden, don’t take offense.”

“It’s fine,” Jared says – like he hadn’t noticed Jensen’s weirdness already.

Jensen leans over and grins. “You wanna race?”

The thought makes Jared a little nervous because it’s his first time riding in years, and he doesn’t know how Wesson will react, but his manly honor is at stake and all.

“Sure.”

“Alright. Loser takes Winner’s stall-mucking duties for the next two days.”

Well, fuck.

///

Jared’s first two weeks at the ranch go by pretty quickly. He’s tan now – skin golden and brown even though he has been slathering on sunscreen like crazy. He tries spending some time each day without his shirt because he can’t stand the tan lines on his arms.

His hand is holding up okay, even though he has used most of his prescription since they only gave him a few pills. He has to use his left hand more, but he is slowly getting used to it. Jared only has a week left in the cast though, and then he’ll be a free man.

He has learned a lot of horses from both Tom and Jensen, learning how to exercise them, what type of training they do, and good selling points for the horses. Jensen is also teaching him how the body language of the horse tells you what it’s feeling. He never knew that a horse’s ears could tell you so much about it.

He has spent more time with Jensen than anyone else. Jared and Jensen have gone riding five more times since they first went out with Indigo and Wesson, and Jensen keeps proving that Jared’s first impression was wrong. Jensen isn’t an asshole at all; he’s just shy. He does clam up every now and then, but everyone else on the ranch just flows with it and Jared reminds himself that it is just who he is. They still race too, but Jared said no more bets. There’s no way he is mucking stalls for the rest of his summer while Jensen goes off and does God knows what.

Jared tries not to flirt with Jensen, he really does, because Jensen is _not_ gay. He will say things to Jared about ex-girlfriends, and when the whole crew went to Steve’s the other night for a beer, he completely dropped his shy gig and unabashedly checked out a girl’s rack. Jared will admit that it _was_ pretty impressive – he used to date girls too – but still. Of course there is this annoying, nagging voice in his mind telling him that perhaps there’s a chance that Jensen might hit for the home team too.

He would love to believe that, especially since sometimes it seems that Jensen is flirting right back at him. The thing is, though, Jensen is unaware of what he’s doing at first. Then he’ll realize it, mouth forming a small “o” and he’ll duck his head as his ears and cheeks redden. And damn it, doesn’t that just make him seem even more irresistible? Jared is so fucked when it comes to this guy… and not at all in the good way.

Jared thinks it is almost lunchtime, so he finishes cleaning out the stall he has been working in, and grabs his shirt that was hanging over the stall door. He slips the shirt over his head and sees Jensen walking towards him after the shirt slips past his eyes. Jensen stops walking as Jared pulls the shirt down completely, and he stands there, looking uncomfortable and a little awkward.

“You alright, man?” Jared asks, crossing the space between them.

“Yeah,” Jensen says, and shakes his head a little, like he is trying to clear his mind. “Mom wants to know why you’re late for lunch.”

“Late? Shit, I must have lost track of time.”

“Dude, you were mucking stalls. How is it possible to lose track of time? It is the most boring job on the planet.” Jensen turns around and they start walking to the house.

Jensen is right – it is boring as hell, but Jared was just lost in his thoughts and not at all paying attention.

“So, this is a random question, but I was wondering if I could take a weekend off in July? It’s my birthday, and—“

“Another summer birthday!” Jensen interrupts.

“Huh?”

“Erica, Chris, Mike, and Ally all have birthdays during the summer and we, of course, like to celebrate them as another excuse to eat good food and drink. But yeah, of course you can take the weekend off, man! We’ll have to do something here for your birthday too. When is it?”

“July 19.”

“Alright,” Jensen says. “Ask Dad at lunch today about taking the weekend off. You planning on going home or something?”

“Yeah. We don’t have anything special planned, but I was thinking about maybe going to see my family and friends for a couple of days.

“Any birthdays any time soon?” Jared asks because he really enjoys being with the people who work here. Tom has been great – teaching Jared so much, and it’s easy to open up to him. Jared even told Tom about his sexuality, which is a big deal since, before then, only his family and Chad knew. Mike always makes him laugh, and watching Chris and Allison running circles around each other is more entertaining than dubbing Telemundo with the sound off. Not to mention Jim’s cooking and Erica’s insane ability to drink every person on the ranch under the table.

“Erica’s birthday is in a couple of weeks. Normally we go out to the lake and camp out for the night, but it’s up to her. Summer is awesome; we work really hard on the ranch all year long, it constantly has to be running and the horses always have to be taken care of. We let ourselves relax a bit on birthdays though, so we look forward to it.”

Jared and Jensen walk into the kitchen, and everyone, including Mike, is sitting at the tables, eating chicken sandwiches and potato salad. Jared suddenly realizes how hungry he is, and he is surprised that he actually forgot when lunch was.

“Jared, I was wondering where you were, and Jensen said he’d go find you. You forget it was lunchtime?” Donna gets up from the table to help Jared get some food.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jared answers and he hears Jensen laugh behind him.

“You’re so skinny, Jared. You can’t afford to be skipping meals.” Jared eats like a starving man, and his own mother complains about the grocery bills he creates all of the time, but Donna doesn’t seem to see that. “Here,” Donna hands him a plate filled with food, “sit down and I’ll get you some tea.”

“I would have come here eventually. I just lost track of the time,” he says, and he sits between Allison and Mike, saying hello to everyone. Donna sets a glass of tea next to his plate and he smiles in gratitude. “Thanks.” He hears Jensen move behind him, and he looks up to see what he’s doing. There are no seats on this side of the table.

“Rosenbaum, go sit next to your boyfriend,” Jensen says.

“Why? So you can sit next to yours?” Mike responds.

Jared’s eyes widen, and he almost chokes on his food.

“Something like that,” Jensen replies. _What?_ “Move, asshole.” He’s obviously joking, grinning ear-to-ear, and Mike laughs loudly and slaps Jensen on the back. It’s just that… Jared can’t believe that shy, sometimes awkward, Jensen just pulled that off without a flinch.

Jensen sits down next to him and their elbows brush lightly as Jensen picks up his fork. Jared looks up and sees Tom grinning at him, and he realizes that Tom probably knows that his feelings for Jensen aren’t purely platonic. He smiles back uneasily and looks down at his plate. Thank God he’s not one of those people that can’t eat when they’re nervous or upset. His sister is like that. Her boyfriend will break up with her and she won’t eat for two days.

“Now Jared,” Donna says as she finally sits down. “Tell me you brought something nice to wear. We have the Hays County Ranchers Association Banquet on Thursday.”

///

Jensen tells Jared that he hates the banquets. He says that he is forced to go every year and there are so many people that he spends the evening feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Jensen has these small moments of insecurity everyday – blushing, averting his eyes, stopping mid-sentence when he thinks he has said too much – but most of the time, he is just fine. Jared constantly has to remind himself that that is because Jensen has known most of the people at the ranch his entire life, so of course he is at ease with _them_. Outsiders are another story.

Jared _didn’t_ bring something nice to wear because he followed Alan’s advice and only brought clothes to work in. So Allison dragged him to go shopping with her because she wanted a new dress to wear that night.

Chris called her twice while they were out, with nothing important to say at all other than, “The dress you’re in right now is ugly as fuck. Get out now, please, before you blind poor Jared,” and, “When are you coming back?” Jared understands that the chase can be fun for both parties involved, but for years? He would have either given up or done something about it by now.

Right now at the banquet, Chris and Allison are talking to a couple of people that Jared doesn’t know, and Chris’ hand is resting on the small of Allison’s back, his thumb rubbing small circles. Jared isn’t sure how the entire ranch hasn’t forced them to get together yet. It’s driving him crazy, and he’s only been around a couple of weeks.

Jensen wasn’t lying; there are a lot of people here. Jared doesn’t think he has ever seen so many cowboy hats in his entire life, and he has lived in San Antonio for 18 years. He’s not wearing one – he thinks he would look stupid as hell – and neither is Jensen, though it’s something he would definitely like to see one day.

Mike walks up to him and ruffles Jared’s hair. “You need a hat, dude.” Of course Mike is wearing one. He’s a rodeo cowboy, isn’t he?

“You should let me borrow yours,” Jared replies, because he suddenly _has_ to see what Jensen would look like wearing one.

Mike takes it off and runs his fingers through his hair. “You’d better give it back, man. I love this hat.”

“I’ll give it back before the night ends. Scout’s honor.” He was never a scout, but he’s not lying anyways and Mike doesn’t need to know that.

He moves through the room, trying to find Jensen and smiling at people he met 10 or 15 minutes ago. Jared sees him standing with two couples, beer in hand and looking really nice with a black button-down shirt and gray slacks, but his posture is tense and his smile is forced and nervous. Jared decides that the hat suddenly isn’t so important, and he walks to Jensen’s side, hoping that a familiar presence will make him feel better. He puts his arm around Jensen’s shoulder, and when Jensen turns and sees Jared’s face, he feels Jensen’s body relax a tiny bit.

“Hey,” Jensen says to him, relief thick in his voice.

“Hey, you having a good time?” Jared asks.

“Yeah. Here, let me introduce you to some clients from the ranch.”

Jared’s a good small-talker; always has been. He has always been good at working the room at house parties and organization events for school. So he starts up a conversation about stuff that isn’t important at all, but it takes the limelight off of Jensen, and that is what he’s going for. He keeps his arm around Jensen’s shoulder, his casted hand holding Mike’s hat at his side, and Jensen continues to relax against him. One of the couples sees someone they want to say hi to, and the other one takes off in another direction, leaving Jared and Jensen alone.

“You alright, man?” Jared asks. “You looked pretty tense.” He takes his arm away from Jensen and stands in front of him.

“I’m okay. You know these things aren’t really my… strong suit, or whatever.” He takes a drink of his beer. “Thanks for helping out.”

Jared shrugs. “It’s no biggie.” Then he remembers why he went to find Jensen in the first place, so he steps forward and places the hat on Jensen’s head.

“What the fuck, man?” Jensen asks, trying to bat Jared’s hands away even though the hat is already on his head.

Jared shrugs. “Just wanted to see what you would look like.”

“And how do I look?” Jensen asks, and there he goes again: making flirty comments and Jared can’t tell if he means them that way or not.

“Not bad,” Jared says, trying to sound nonchalant when he is really thinking, _It’s kind of hot._ And even if he _knew_ that Jensen was flirting, he wouldn’t say it anyways because what’s cheesier than gay cowboys? So he steps around the subject carefully. “You’re a cowboy, right? You should wear a cowboy hat.”

“Am I really a cowboy if I don’t deal with cows?” He teases, his smile and eyes bright.

Jared shrugs and says he doesn’t know, but Jensen leaves the hat on the rest of the night.

///

Erica’s birthday comes out of nowhere. Jared wakes up one morning to Erica pounding on his door, asking him if he is packed for the lake. It’s early – the sun isn’t even up yet and Jared has not had coffee – and they aren’t supposed to head to the lake until that afternoon. He tells her no and that he is going back to sleep. She responds that birthdays are unfortunately early days so they can get their work done early, and she smacks him on the ass before prancing out of the room and singing “It’s My Party” to herself.

Jared pads into the kitchen barefoot, wearing only a pair of shorts, which gets him a whistle from Allison who is sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. Thank God Chris isn’t here. He opens the cabinet to pull down a box of cereal, but there isn’t any.

“Is there any cereal anywhere else?” Jared asks Allison.

“I don’t think so. I think Jim and Erica finished it off yesterday.”

Well, fuck. There’s no way Jared can labor around the ranch all day without something to eat first.

“Don’t get all pouty,” Allison says. “Fix yourself some eggs or something.”

Yeah, Jared _could_ do that, but he’s pretty freaking helpless in the kitchen, and it would take way more time than it’s worth.

“I’m going to go see if Donna will have mercy upon me,” Jared replies.

“Just because she has a soft spot for you, Padalecki, doesn’t mean she’s going to give you breakfast!” She calls out to him as he goes into his room to put on a t-shirt that’s probably dirty and slips into a pair of flip-flops.

On the way to the farmhouse, his feet get a little wet from the dew on the ground, but he doesn’t really mind. The sun has barely even cracked over the horizon, so the air is still a little bit cool (as cool as it can be in Texas summer) and moist against his skin.

He knocks on the door that leads to the kitchen. He can see through the glass that the light is on, but he doesn’t see anyone at the stove. At lunch, he just walks in and sits down to eat, but the hands aren’t invited for breakfast during the week, so he thinks it’d be rude to just walk in and help himself to the Ackles’ food. No one comes to the door, and he assumes that everyone is upstairs getting ready for the day. He turns around to head back to the common house when he hears the door open.

Jensen is standing there in boxers and a t-shirt, bare feet on the tiled floor, hair sticking up every which way. And he’s wearing glasses, which _wow_ , Jared definitely approves of.

“You need something?” Jensen asks, voice still rough from just waking up.

“Um,” Jared rubs the back of his neck with his hand. “We’re out of cereal, so I was hoping to raid your kitchen for some food.”

For some reason, Jared gets this stupid, unreasonable fear that Jensen will get irritated with him and send him back to the common house with an empty stomach, but Jensen just smirks and steps aside to let Jared in the door.

“We’ve got cereal,” Jensen says. “I won’t make you starve.” Jensen closes the door and goes to the fridge to grab the gallon of milk. “You should have made Ally make breakfast for you. I’d say ask Erica, but she’s useless on her birthday.”

“I thought about asking her, but she told me to fix myself something before I could. And me and kitchens? I’m completely lost, man.” Jared sits at the island when Jensen pulls two bowls from the cabinet and grabs a box of cereal. Jared takes the box from him and fills his bowl almost to the top, only leaving room for the milk.

“Dude,” Jensen says. “You hungry?”

Jared grins. “Always.” Jared holds his arms out and looks down at his own body. “I’m a growing boy, you know? Gotta have lots of fuel.”

“You don’t need to grow any more, Sasquatch. Jesus.”

“You’re just jealous, because you’re short,” Jared says around a mouthful of cereal, so he’s not sure if Jensen even understood him.

“Everyone’s short to you. Except Yao Ming… or Goliath.”

“If that was supposed to make me feel bad, you failed, man,” Jared replies. Jensen comes around the counter and smacks the back of Jared’s head before he sits next to him. They sit quietly for a minute, the only sounds in the room being the clink of spoons against bowls and chewing, when it hits Jared that he’s sitting two inches away from Jensen, who’s only wearing boxers and whose hair is mussed from sleep. It’s so weirdly domestic and… kind of perfect, really. Jared doesn’t think he’d mind this everyday, especially when it is Jensen sitting next to him.

“You seem deep in thought,” Jensen says, breaking him out of his reverie.

Jared shrugs. “What’s the plan for today?” he asks, changing the subject. Jensen doesn’t want this, not the way that he does. Jared needs to get over it.

“We won’t do any training today; just mucking and exercising. Then around 2 or 3, we’ll head to the lake. Sometimes we bring our horses. I’ll be bringing Indy if you want to bring Wesson.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

///

Jared leads Wesson out of the trailer, squinting his eyes against the sun. He still hasn’t gotten used to the heat, to the sweat that constantly dampens his t-shirt and trails down his neck. He tries not to let it bother him or to complain because no one else does. Thank God he got his cast taken off the other day; he doesn’t have to deal with the constant itching anymore.

He has spent his entire life in Texas, but he never gets used to the summers. Now he’s outdoors for the majority of the day, and sometimes he wants nothing more than to sit naked in an air-conditioned room with a glass of sweet tea.

“Jay,” Jensen calls from about 10 feet away. Jared looks up just in time to see Jensen tossing him a bottle of water from a cooler on the ground. He drains half of it in one go, exhaling heavily when he stops, and he wipes his mouth on his shirt sleeve.

They’ve already set up their tents. Mike is getting the coals ready to grill, which honestly makes Jared a bit nervous having _Mike_ in charge of something he has to put in his body, but no one else seems to be worried. Tom is sitting on a tree stump next to Mike, adamantly listening to Mike discuss his training experience from the day before.

“You want to ride now?” Jensen asks.

“Yeah,” Jared responds, unable to hide the grin on his face. He loves this. He loves that this has become a thing just for them. It’s where Jared really gets to know the _real_ Jensen. It’s just them and Wesson and Indigo and the experience always makes Jensen open up and actually reveal things about himself. It’s not even like they talk the entire ride; actually, most of it is silent. It’s a comfortable silence, though, and it’s good when they actually do talk.

“I’m going to help Ally and Erica set up their tent. You wanna saddle up Wesson and Indy?” Jensen asks.

Jared is surprised by the question. Jensen always seems incredibly protective over Indigo, and Jared would never expect Jensen to just let him be that close to her without Jensen overseeing it.

“Yeah, sure,” Jared replies.

“Alright, be good to her,” Jensen calls behind him as he walks toward the girls.

Jared starts with Wesson first since they are already familiar with one another. He brushes the horse with one hand, and pets its flank with the other, happy that he can finally use both hands again.

“You ever been out here, boy? Bet you’re excited to go exploring, aren’t you?” Jared asks Wesson as he finishes securing the girths of the saddle.

“Can you please keep your sweet talkin’ down, Jay?” Mike asks. “We don’t want to hear it, and you’re disturbing the poor horse.”

“You should hear him with that damn dog,” Jim adds, looking up from his book to glance at Jared.

“You should hear yourself with that damn dog, Jim,” Jared replies, moving to Indigo to start brushing her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you love that dog,” Erica says as she comes over with Jensen and Allison. “You make her scrambled eggs every morning for breakfast after Jared heads to the stables.” Jim flips her off and goes back to reading his book, making Erica laugh.

“Why don’t you ever make _me_ breakfast?” Jared asks.

“Because he has seen how much you eat,” Jensen says, coming up behind Jared. “You got Wesson ready before Indy? Haven’t you ever heard of ladies first?”

Jared shrugs. “Wesson’s prissier than Indigo anyways.”

“True.”

Jensen finishes up with Indigo. He and Jared head into the wooded area near the lake. Two minutes in and Jared can’t tell where the hell they are anymore.

“Dude, are we going to get lost?” Jared says. He is horribly directionally challenged. He’s got his cell phone, but what if there’s shitty reception out here?

“I’ve been coming here for years. I’m not going to get us lost.”

That’s right. Jared’s a total city boy – growing up in San Antonio, going to school in Austin. Out here, though, this is Jensen’s territory – woods and fields in a rural ranch town. Jared thinks that Jensen probably smells earthy like soil and grass, and his skin must always be warm from the constant heat of the sun, and – damn it. His mind is wandering to bad places again.

A few more minutes brings them to a clearing, and the second the horses step out of the woods, Jensen takes off quickly, his laughter loud and open, and Jared can’t help but to laugh with him.

“You fucker,” Jared yells. He’s got a hard enough time trying to beat Jensen in a race without Jensen getting a head start. Jared chases after him, trying to get Wesson to hurry the hell up, and though he does gain on him a bit, Jared doesn’t catch up to him until Jensen stops riding and turns around.

“You’re hopeless, Jay. You’re never going to beat me.”

“Asshole. I will have my revenge.”

“Right,” Jensen says. “I gotta show you something first, though.” Jensen heads back toward the woods, and Wesson falls into step with Indigo.

“So what are you going to show me?” Jared asks.

“This property belongs to Chris’ family, and he and I used to come out here all of the time when we were kids with our horses. We had a tree house.”

Jared laughs. “A tree house? Seriously?”

“Yes. It was very… cool,” Jensen replies a bit indignantly.

“Did you play Cowboys and Indians?” Jared asks.

“Would you stop?” He hits Jared playfully on the arm, and when Jared turns to face him, Jensen’s face is bright red.

“I’m guessing that’s a yes.”

“The tree house is over there,” Jensen says, pointing.

“Your lack of a reply answers the question for me.”

“It’s amazing how much higher up it looks when you’re seven than when you’re 23.”

“Aw, I can just picture seven-year-old Jen and Chris running around on their ponies,” Jared says. “Were you the cowboy or the Indian?”

“Uh, Indian.”

Jared laughs. “Ha! I knew it. Please tell me there were feathers involved.”

“Possibly?” Jensen gets off of Indigo to walk toward the tree and Jared follows behind him.

“Oh, God. And war paint.”

Jensen just groans and Jared laughs at him because this mental image is just fantastic. He sends a small prayer to the heavens that Donna has pictures somewhere.

The house is pretty small, though of course it would have been amazing to two boys, and it’s obviously been neglected for years. Jared sees something carved on the edge of it, so he runs his hand to push away the dirt to read it better.

“Keep Out. J and C only,” Jared reads aloud, still brushing the dirt away.

“You know, it’s so weird seeing you without your cast,” Jensen says. Jared turns around to face him and looks at the back of his hand.

“It’s awesome to have my hand back, man.”

“Let me see it,” Jensen says quietly, taking Jared’s hand in his own, turning it to look at the back and the palm. “Huh.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was expecting a scar or a bone out of place or something.”

“No scar; they didn’t cut me open or anything, and it healed up nicely. It wasn’t that bad of a break.” Jared shifts his weight from one foot nervously, because Jensen is still holding his hand even though he’s not looking at it anymore.

And suddenly Jared gets it. He’s been telling himself over and over that Jensen’s not interested and that Jensen’s not gay, but so many signs point to the contrary. The flirting and the teasing and the touching – God, Jared’s been stupid.

So he just does it. He closes his eyes and leans forward, closing the few inches that are between them and presses his lips to Jensen’s. Jensen is frozen at first, lips still against Jared’s, and Jared’s gut clenches in panic, because, _Oh, God_ , he was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Then Jensen’s mouth opens, a soft groan escaping it, and he tentatively brings one hand up to Jared’s face while the other still holds Jared’s hand. Jared runs his tongue along the edge of Jensen’s lips, begging for entrance; hoping that this is okay. Jensen leans his body into Jared’s, and he deepens the kiss as his fingers tangle in Jared’s hair.

Jared brings his arms around Jensen’s waist so that they’re hip to hip, palms and fingers splayed across Jensen’s back, and he can feel Jensen’s cock starting to stiffen against his own. He moans at the contact, and rolls his hips slowly but firmly against Jensen’s, because _fuck_ , he needs some friction.

Jensen gasps at the movement and presses his hand against Jared’s chest, pulling away and taking a large step back. Jared tries to take a step forward, but Jensen’s hand is unyielding against him.

“Jen, you—“

“No, Jared, just… no. I should have never… I’m not even… this isn’t a good idea.” Jensen is _shaking_ , his breath harsh and fast, and two seconds ago, Jared could feel how Jensen’s dick was hardening against his own. He can still see the outline of it in Jensen’s pants.

“Jensen—“

“Come on,” Jensen interrupts, walking toward Indigo quickly with heavy steps. “Food should be ready soon.”

///

Jensen is nervous and fidgety when they get back, and Jared isn’t a big bottle of sunshine himself. He is just hoping that no one will notice, but this is a smart group. They’re around each other every single day, and they’ve all known Jensen for years. Jim watches the two of them with knowing eyes, and Tom keeps mouthing, _Are you okay?_ to Jared every 10 minutes. Everyone is having a good time, all smiles and laughter, but there’s a tiny bit of tension in the air.

Jensen is sitting on a log after dinner, staring at the ground near his feet, when Jared opens a beer and hands it to him. He looks up at Jared and shakes his head no.

“No, thanks.”

Jared keeps the beer extended. “It’ll make you feel better.” Jensen looks at Jared, his gaze penetrating and questioning, and Jared just doesn’t know what to think. Jensen is driving him crazy with this on-again, off-again thing he’s been working with since Jared first set foot on the ranch.

Jensen takes the beer though and closes his eyes as he takes a long drink from it, golden eyelashes pressed against his cheeks. Jared turns away because he has to stop looking at Jensen like that, like he’s _beautiful_ , like he’s perfect.

The night goes on and Erica opens presents in front of a bonfire and they have cake and more beer (some a lot more than others). Jared tries to keep his eyes elsewhere – Mike being loud and boisterous the more he drinks, the way Chris will find any reason in the world to touch Allison – anything that’s not Jensen. But Jensen is like a fucking magnet, a constant pulling force that Jared can’t help but yield to.

The thing is, though, Jensen’s looking right back at him, sometimes looking away quickly when Jared catches him, but sometimes he’ll get brave and hold Jared’s gaze with his own. Jared can feel himself getting a little angry, because Jensen is fucking with him; telling Jared one thing and then doing the exact opposite.

Jared slowly nurses beer after beer all night, and as far as he knows, Jensen is doing the same. Neither of them has had enough to be drunk, but Jared is warm and relaxed, blood buzzing slightly under his skin. Jensen seems to be in the same place he is, with his hooded eyes and comfortable posture that is so different from the way he was a couple of hours ago.

Jared sees Mike walk over to Jensen and bend over to whisper in his ear. When Mike finishes speaking, Jensen looks at Jared as Mike pats him on the back.

“Well, ladies and gentlemen,” Mike says as he walks toward his tent. “Tommy Boy and I are hitting the sack.”

“God, _please_ keep it down this time,” Erica responds, throwing something at Mike that he dodges.

“Just trying to give you a show for your birthday, Erica.”

“I’ll pass, thanks.”

“Your loss, darlin’. ‘Night everyone.”

That seems to be the cue for everyone else to start cleaning up or heading toward their tents. Jensen stands up and walks toward Jared before bending down and grabbing Jared’s arm.

“Come on, let’s go swimming.”

“I didn’t bring swim trunks or anything.”

“You’ve got underwear, don’t you?”

Oh, and that’s exactly what Jared needs. He’s trying to forget that he’s attracted to one Jensen Ackles while that person wants to parade around wet. In his underwear.

“I don’t think that’s a particularly good idea.” The image is branded in his mind now though, and Jared can just picture using his fingertips to catch the drops of water that are trying to escape down Jensen’s chest; the soft gasp Jensen would make when Jared’s thumbs would brush Jensen’s nipples.

“Come on,” Jensen says again, softly this time, before licking his lips. Jensen’s hand curls tighter around Jared’s arm, trying to lift him up and Jared obliges him. Jensen grabs an electric lantern and turns it on before they wind down the dark path to the lake. They walk onto the dock, reaching its halfway point, and Jensen sets the lamp down before taking off his boots and socks.

Jared has seen Jensen shirtless a dozen times on the ranch; the heat driving everyone to wear as little as possible, but when Jensen takes his shirt off this time, it’s different. Teasing. He lifts it slowly, and the anticipation Jared feels in his gut as the fabric moves up his chest makes his breath quicken.

 _Look away_ , Jared tells himself, but how can he? How can he tear his eyes away when Jensen is so fucking beautiful?

“You gonna stay there all night?” Jensen asks, unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his pants.

“Possibly,” Jared replies.

“What would be the fun in that?” The pants drop to the ground and he steps out of them, immediately turning around and running to jump into the lake while only wearing his boxers. The splash is loud against the quiet of the night, and a few drops of water land on Jared’s shirt.

“The water is pretty warm. Come on,” Jensen calls, shaking water out of his hair.

Jared moves faster than Jensen did to get out of his clothes, and though he’s still reluctant to do this – to be this close to Jensen physically when he should be getting over this attraction – he jumps in even though the water is not incredibly deep, coming up out of the water just a few feet away from Jensen. The lantern is a good distance away, but the moon is pretty bright, and Jared’s eyes have adjusted to the small amount of light he’s been given. The ripples moving away from their bodies catch the light from the moon, and Jared can see drops of water on Jensen’s skin just like he imagined a few minutes ago.

Jensen moves toward him, but Jared moves back.

“Jensen—“

“Don’t, please. I was really fucking stupid back there, Jay. I just – I freaked. I’ve never…” Jensen swallows loudly, his eyes adverting to the water as if he’s trying to muster up the courage to continue. “I’ve never done anything with a guy. I’ve only found a couple of guys attractive in the past and I never tried anything. This is fucking Texas, you know? We’re a straight up southern, Bible-thumping, red state. I told Chris once that I had thought about guys, and he was cool with it, but he’s Chris. He’s my best friend.

“Then you show up, and after the fight at the bar, we just clicked so well. I love talking with you and joking around with you. I love it when we go riding in the afternoons with Indy and Wesson.” Jensen takes a deep breath. “We fit together, Jay. It took me a while to realize that I wanted more out of this. I’m sorry about this afternoon. It was good.” Jensen laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “You know I thought it was good.” Jensen moves forward again, but this time, Jared stays put.

Jared closes his eyes, willing his heartbeat to slow down. “Jen, I don’t think I could handle it if you freaked out again like you did earlier.” _Because it fucking hurt_ is what Jared leaves unsaid.

“I won’t. I don’t even know where this is going, man. One of us could decide in the morning that we’re wrong for each other, and that’s that. And I’m not saying that I’m not going to freak out at all, because I… struggle with this. I like you though, Jared, and I’m gonna try, okay? Let me try.”

“Yeah,” Jared whispers. “Okay.” Jared moves so that they’re right in front of each other, and he places his hand on the back of Jensen’s neck, his thumb drawing circles on his skin. Even with the moon being his only light, Jared can see how beautiful Jensen’s eyes are – irises green and thin around his pupils that are large from alcohol and want.

Jared is scared this time around, scared that Jensen’s going to freak out and storm off again. So he stays there, waiting for Jensen to make the first move.

Their lips finally touch, feather soft this time before Jensen presses a little harder. He pulls on Jared’s bottom lip with his teeth as his arms move to hook around Jared’s neck. Jensen opens his mouth under Jared’s, kisses becoming tastes as their tongues move against each other, and Jared’s mind is swimming with how good it is.

Jared snakes an arm around Jensen’s waist, pulling Jensen tight against him so that flesh meets flesh, the impact softened by the water. Jensen groans softly when they meet, and he moves his lips to trail down Jared’s neck. Soft bites to the base of his throat make Jared shudder, his cock getting harder and his breath quickening.

Jared reaches between them with one hand and runs his fingertips over one of Jensen’s nipples just over the edge of the water, which makes Jensen gasp against Jared’s neck. He feels Jensen hardening against him, and when Jared moves his hips against Jensen’s this time, Jensen doesn’t run. He moves against Jared, the friction light, and Jared’s other hand moves to Jensen’s ass and presses them closer together.

“Fuck, Jared,” Jensen says, voice hoarse with desire.

“Yeah,” Jared replies. His cock against Jensen’s just feels so damn good, and he can’t believe he’s doing this. He can’t believe that Jensen is pressed so tightly against him as they start to kiss each other again, making Jared breathless.

Jared loves this. He doesn’t have a lot of experience with guys – a drunken hand job with his roommate at one party (Yeah, that was an awkward morning after) and a blowjob with a guy he dated for a few weeks last semester. So he’s used to the soft curves of girl, small breasts in the palm of his hand, and high, breathy cries. This is infinitely different: broad, hard chest pressed against his own, cock hard against his thigh, deep groans that he can feel rumble in Jensen’s chest.

He is surprised when Jensen brings a hand between them and runs the crook of his index finger along the covered outline of Jared’s cock. He sucks in a breath. Jensen gets braver as his hand grips Jared’s dick, squeezing it and rubbing it through the fabric. It’s good, yeah, it’s good, but after the weeks of teasing and the fruitless afternoon, Jared’s ready for more.

He steps away from Jensen to maneuver out of his boxers, instantly missing the friction and pressure on his cock. He throws them on the dock, hearing the wet _thwap_ sound it makes when it lands. Then he turns back to Jensen to get rid of his boxers, but Jensen has already beaten him to it.

No barriers this time when Jared presses into Jensen, and all that skin - _God_ \- feels delicious against his own. Jensen’s cock presses insistently against his stomach and Jared reaches down to curl his hand around it. Jensen moans, long and low, as Jared firmly slides his fist from shaft to head, thumb pushing and rubbing on the slit. He starts a slow rhythm as Jensen finally wraps his hand around Jared’s cock and matches the pace Jared sets. Jensen just feels so amazing, his hand a little unsure at first, and Jared can tell when Jensen realizes that Jared would probably like what he likes, and his grip tightens and his speed quickens slightly.

The water is sloshing around them, and Jared is just totally and completely lost in Jensen – touching each other, kissing like breathing each other’s breath is the only way they can survive.

“Good, Jay, so good,” Jensen moans, leaning his forehead against Jared’s shoulder. Jared brings their cocks together, wrapping his and Jensen’s hands around them, and Jensen thrusts against Jared’s dick. Jared cups Jensen’s balls with his other hand, thumb stroking as his fingertips brush the skin behind them, and Jensen falls forward, crying out as he comes. God, that fucking sound alone sends Jared right over the edge with him so quickly that it’s a surprise to his body. He freezes, Jensen’s name falling from his lips as Jensen pulls on their cocks as they ride it out.

It takes a few minutes for his heart to stop pounding in his chest. Jensen keeps his head on Jared’s shoulder and Jared leans his cheek against Jensen’s crown.

“You okay?” Jared asks, because he’s still scared Jensen’s going to freak out any minute.

Jensen laughs. “How can you even ask me that, man?”

Jared shrugs, not really wanting to voice his fears.

“I meant what I said, Jared. If you want to do this, then I want to do this.”

“Okay.” Jared can’t help but smile. Jensen takes a step back and looks up at Jared and smiles back.

“There’s no way in hell this bunch isn’t going to figure out what we just did, but, uh…” Jensen trails off.

“Your parents?”

“Yeah. I want to tell them, I do, but… I need some time.”

Jared nods. “I understand.” And he does, because he came out to his parents once. His folks were just fine with same sex couples, but it was still shocking to hear that their son might bat for the other team.

“You ready to head back?” Jensen asks.

Jared wants to say no because it feels so good to be pressed up against Jensen and the water is warm, but he knows that he can curl up against Jensen when they sleep and he likes that idea a lot better.

“Yeah, come on.”

///

Jared wakes up to the alarm from his phone, feeling warm even though he’s not under any blankets. The tent is hot, and Jensen is pressed up against him and sharing heat, his head on Jared’s shoulder, arm and leg slung over Jared’s body.

Jensen wakes up beside him as Jared moves to turn off the alarm. Jensen sits up slowly, blinking quickly and rubbing his eyes.

“You okay?” Jared asks, wanting to make sure that Jensen is still all right with yesterday’s events.

“Yeah, just didn’t think to take my out my contacts last night,” Jensen answers. That’s not what Jared meant, but the comment makes him smile anyway.

Jared sits up and kisses Jensen’s bare shoulder, and Jensen turns and brings up Jared’s chin with a curved finger and leans in to kiss him. The temptation to let this wander into something more is almost overwhelming, but they have to start packing and loading the truck so they can head back to the ranch. Jared actually has today off, but Jensen doesn’t.

Jared gives them a minute to get reacquainted though, lips touching, hot and wet, and tongues dancing against one another. Jensen’s hand teases down Jared’s stomach and his muscles spasm involuntarily against the touch. Jensen’s fingers curl under the waistband of Jared’s boxers, and _God_ , Jared wants this, he really does, but they can’t. Jared grabs Jensen’s hand and brings it up to kiss his palm.

“We have to go,” Jared reminds him, and Jensen sighs. “We can pick it back up later.”

“I’m holding you to that,” Jensen replies, grinning.

Jared smiles back before shimmying into his jeans and stepping out of the tent. Everyone else is already up and nursing a cup of coffee.

Erica clears her throat loudly and looks at Jared. “So…” she trails off, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

“What?” Jared asks, trying to sound nonchalant, but he feels his cheeks burning. He hears Jensen coming out of the tent behind him, and when he turns, he sees that Jensen didn’t put a shirt on either. Jared failed to notice when they woke up in the tent this morning, but Jensen has small bruises along his collarbone and chest where Jared sucked and kissed the freckles on his skin. Minus the freckles, it was a mutual experience, so Jared probably looks equally debauched. Jared sees Jensen’s eyes rake up his body, and the poorly hidden grin on Jensen’s face confirms it.

“Jennie, my man,” Mike calls, walking over to Jensen and slinging his arm around Jensen’s shoulder. “I see you took my advice.”

Jared pieces together the events of last night: Mike whispering in Jensen’s ear, the look Jensen gave Jared while Mike talked to him, Jensen _finally_ making a move.

“What exactly did Mike say?” Jared asks Jensen as Jensen ducks out from under Mike’s arm.

“I told him that I was tired of you gentlemen eye-fucking all the time,” Mike answers for Jensen. “It’s been driving everyone crazy, and I told him that he’d be stupid as hell if he didn’t go for it.”

“Dude, shut _up_ ,” Jensen exclaims as he slaps Mike on the back of his head. He is obviously embarrassed, but Jared isn’t. Jared’s buying Mike a drink next time they head to Steve’s.

///

Jared thought it might be difficult trying to pursue things with Jensen right under Donna and Alan’s noses, but it wasn’t really that hard. It was pretty fun actually – the secrecy fueling their desire, making Jensen braver. Two days ago, Jensen backed Jared up against the railing of a stall he had just cleaned, and dropped to his knees, giving Jared an unpracticed and sloppy, but still incredibly hot, blowjob. The audacity and boldness of the moment was so unexpected from the shy Jensen’s he’d gotten to know the month before, which just made it even hotter. Thinking back, Jared can’t help but get instantly hard imagining Jensen licking come off his lips while tucking Jared’s cock back into his boxers and zipping up his pants.

Jensen and Jared go riding almost every day –though it’s usually after Jared has finished his afternoon duties with Tom – when sky is painted with purples and pinks, and the darkened sunlight looks so beautiful against Jensen’s skin.

Jared normally doesn’t fall this fast. He’s usually a bit guarded when it comes to romantic feelings, but Jensen just weaves his way under Jared’s skin, and Jared feels almost silly about how much he is starting to need Jensen.

Jared hasn’t seen Jensen today. Jensen and Alan are picking up a couple of new horses from an auction in Houston and won’t be back till tomorrow. The rest of the crew is currently covered in soap and water from the horses’ seasonal washings. The sun is large and hot in the sky, and sweat is mixing with the splashes of water on his skin. Jared abandoned his shirt long ago, and is now in swim trunks and flip-flops.

He’s washing the shoulder of a black horse when Chris brings another horse to the cleaning area.

“Hey, man,” Chris says as he ties his horse a few feet away from where Jared is working.

“Hey,” Jared replies.

Chris starts wetting the horse with water from a hose, moving slowly from the back of the horse’s leg toward its shoulder. “You going through withdrawals without your boy here?”

Jared grins. “I’m surviving.”

“Hopefully Jensen is too. Don’t feel like hearing him bitch about it when he gets back.”

“He might be a bit preoccupied when he gets back.”

“Ugh, spare me,” Chris mumbles, hitting Jared with a spray of water from the hose.

The sound that escapes Jared’s mouth because of the cold water hitting his back is entirely unmanly, and Chris laughs.

“Fuck off, man,” Jared says, but he can’t help but laugh too. Jared’s rinsing his horse off now, and it’s tempting to attack Chris with the water in retaliation, but if it got out of hand, he’s worried that it would scare the horses.

“Hey, Jared?” Chris says, looking up from his horse.

“Hmm?”

“I just wanted to say…” Chris trails off, and Jared nods his head for him to continue. “Jensen’s been… he’s been good since you’ve been around. He hasn’t been really and truly _happy_ in a while, and you’re changing that.”

“I’m glad.” Jared smiles, looking at the ground. “He means a lot to me.”

“I know he does,” Chris replies. “I’m not sure if you guys are just fooling around for the summer or what, but I’m hoping that this works out.”

“Nice to know I’ve got the best friend’s approval.”

Chris laughs. “You do unless you fuck it up.”

Jared rinses off all of the soap from the horse, the hot suds hitting his feet and squishing between his toes.

He wants to say something to Chris – wants to bring up Allison and how they’re obviously head over heels for one another. He bounces back and forth on the idea for a few minutes. He really hasn’t known Chris that long, but everyone has treated Jared so inclusively. And Chris did just discuss something personal with him.

“Chris,” Jared finally calls his name as he starts to wash the horse’s face with a damp cloth.

“Yeah?”

“Since we’re having Sharing and Caring Time here, do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Shoot,” Chris says. He’s not looking at Jared – he’s focused on washing the horse – but Jared thinks that might be for the best.

“Why the hell don’t you and Allison just go for it already?”

Chris looks up at Jared. “Fuck, man, not you too.”

“What do you mean?” Jared asks.

“Everyone on this ranch has tried to have this conversation with me.”

“Don’t you think that means something?”

Chris just groans.

“Do you love her?”

“Not having this conversation,” Chris says, squeezing his eyes shut as if that will make Jared and his inquisition disappear.

“Just… answer the question, man.” Jared is sincere, just wanting Chris to finally take what he so obviously wants, and he’s hoping that he’s coming off that way, instead of coming off as a pushy asshole.

“I…” Chris drops the sponge into the bucket. “You want to finish this horse? I’m going to go see if Donna needs help for lunch.” He walks off before Jared can even answer him, and Jared hopes he hasn’t fucked things up.

///

Late afternoon the next day, Jared heads toward the first stable to say hi to Wesson, Sadie by his side because she likes the horse too. He turns the corner of the entrance and stops in surprise. Jensen is there, throwing a saddle blanket over Wesson. Indigo is standing next to them, already saddled and ready to go.

“When did you get in?” Jared asks, walking forward to get closer to Jensen.

Jensen smiles at him. “Hey! Just a bit ago. Hope you want to go riding,” he says, nodding toward the horses. “Wesson might get all depressed if you don’t want to go out.”

“What about Indigo?”

“I’ll take her out either way,” Jensen replies. “She probably didn’t get any exercise while I was gone.” He reaches for a saddle for Wesson, but stops “You want to go though, right?” Jensen suddenly sounds so unsure, so Jared leans forward to touch Jensen’s face, sliding his thumb across Jensen’s cheekbone.

“Yeah, of course.” Jared kisses him, Jensen’s lips chapped and dry against his own, and fuck, it’s only been a couple of days, but Jared’s missed this. Missed Jensen. “Glad you’re back,” Jared whispers after another kiss, and pulls away to get Wesson ready.

While they finish up in the stable, Jared tries to decide the best way to bring up his conversation with Chris. Chris hasn’t said anything to Jared since yesterday, completely ignoring him at lunch. He doesn’t seem angry; he just seems distant and uncomfortable. Jared is nervous that he overstepped his boundaries, and he doesn’t want Jensen’s best friend upset with him.

Jensen starts talking excitedly about the two new horses when they finally ride out of the stable. He’s going on about how they’ll be great for breeding, and how the ranch will get good racehorses out of them. They talk about the ranch for a while before Jared finally brings it up.

“So, I think I pissed Chris off yesterday,” Jared begins tentatively.

“Yeah? What happened?”

“Well, I sort of mentioned that he and Allison would be good together.”

Jensen laughs. “Chris always gets pissed when people say that. Don’t worry, man. He’ll be alright in a couple of days.”

“Jensen, seriously. Is he just going to sit there and pine after her until he’s 70? When the hell is he going to get some balls and go for it?”

“You’ve got me,” Jensen replies. “He’s my best friend and I still can’t talk any sense into him.”

Sadie runs ahead of them, and they start to follow the trail she makes, but their walk is slow.

“My dad likes you, you know,” Jensen says completely out of the blue and Jared’s head turns to look at him.

“Huh? What did he say?”

“When we were driving back from Houston this morning he said that he was glad that he hired you, and that he hopes you come back next summer too.”

“Wow,” Jared says. He hasn’t even thought about next summer – he’s too immersed in this one to think about it – but yeah, that’d be really nice.

“Yeah, and then he asked me what I thought of you.”

Jared can’t help but snort. “And what did you tell him?”

“That you are… a lot of fun.” Jensen looks at him and winks.

“Ha! Right.”

“He says,” Jensen pauses for a few seconds before continuing, “He says I’m happier lately, and that’s maybe because we’ve been hanging out together so much. Huh, maybe I should have told him then?”

“Jensen you don’t have to… you can take your time. We’ve been doing this a couple of weeks. This could just be a stage for you. This doesn’t mean you’re gay or bi or whatever. No sense in freaking your parents out if it’s a temporary thing.”

Jensen is quiet for a few minutes, keeping his eyes on Sadie as she roams around in front of them. “I told you that I’ve felt things before this. I don’t think this is just going to go away.” He sighs. “I’m scared though. They seem okay with Tom and Mike, but they aren’t their kids, you know? And the comment Dad made… makes me think he knows or something.”

“You okay with that?”

“I don’t know, Jay. If he or Mom ask me about it, I can’t – I don’t want to lie to them. And I won’t if they do ask. If they don’t any time soon, then I guess I’m good. I think I need some time to sort through my thoughts.”

“That’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” Jensen asks, stopping the horse and turning so that he’s facing Jared. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re not important to me.”

“Jensen, it’s okay, really. I came out to my parents before; I know that it’s scary as fuck. Don’t worry about me in this. This is about you.”

Jensen nods, worried, but genuine, smile creeping onto his face. “Alright.” He turns the horse back around. “Race ya.”

///

Jared’s birthday arrives before he even realizes it. This summer is just zooming by, and he can’t believe that he’s only got a month left at the ranch.

Jared said he wanted to keep his birthday simple: throw some steaks on the grill and have a few drinks. It’s an early morning again, since they have to get everything done by early afternoon. Jared’s not complaining though, since he woke up to a happy birthday hand job with promises of much more after they finished Jared’s party.

It’s a pretty busy day on the ranch. They’ve got a few appointments today for customers coming to look at horses, and then Donna comes back with a truckload of groceries that could probably feed a small army, or a small ranch, of course.

“Do you want some help putting them away?” he asks after he helps her unload the groceries from the trucks.

“Yes, thanks,” she says pointing Jared in the direction of the pantry. “I’m surprised you didn’t go home for your birthday.”

Jared shrugs. “I thought about it, but I thought I’d just stay around the ranch and help out.” He likes it here; likes the work, likes the people, likes Jensen. He was originally planning on spending a few days in San Antonio but he’s just not ready to leave the ranch yet.

“We wouldn’t have minded at all. We’re glad that you’re here, of course, but it’s perfectly alright to want to see your family.”

“They’re going to spend a few days with me in Austin when I move into my apartment, so I’ll see them soon.”

“When is your last day on the ranch?” Donna asks.

“In a month. August 19th.”

“Oh, that’s not long at all. Alan will probably try to bribe you to stay.”

Jared laughs. “I appreciate it, but I do have to go back to school.”

“Oh, I know, honey. We’ll miss you though. Jensen especially, I think.”

“I’ll miss y’all too. I really like it here,” Jared says as he grabs the last bag of groceries and puts them in the pantry. “Is that it?” he asks.

“Yes, sir. Thanks for your help, Jared.”

“It’s no problem. I’m going to eat the food, so I might as well help with it.”

She smiles at him. “You know, you’re such a nice young man.” Jared’s eyes must get as wide as saucers because he’s been told that plenty of times when he was in high school – like when he was picking up his date for the junior prom and when he brought her back home before curfew.

“Uh, thank you?” Jared replies. _What the fuck_?

Donna laughs. “I don’t mean to scare you or anything! Just wanted to let you know that we’re happy that you’re here.”

Jared just smiles nervously in response and tries to change the subject. “Have you, uh, seen Jensen?”

“I don’t think he’s in the house. I’d check outside.”

Jared jogs out the door and walks the perimeter of the farmhouse, but there’s no Jensen. He’s probably in the stables, but Jared decided to check the common house first so he doesn’t have to make the walk there for no reason.

The heat really isn’t that bad today. It’s hot, but there’s a soft breeze and Jared doesn’t feel like he’s dying. So it’s a definite improvement to most days. He’s still grateful for the blast of air conditioning that hits him when he walks into the common house. Jensen is not in the kitchen or the common area, so Jared heads down the hall. The door to Allison’s room is open and he knocks on the edge of the doorframe before stepping inside.

“Hey, Allison have you—“ Jared stops, and he is unable to even think the rest of the question, let alone say it. Allison is lying on the bed, her legs around Chris’ waist and Chris’ hand under her shirt. They aren’t kissing, but both of their mouths are red and swollen from previous kisses and bites. Chris looks about as stunned as Jared feels, and Jared isn’t sure if that’s because Jared just interrupted them or if it’s because he’s finally getting his chance with Allison. Jared takes a step back. “Heh, sorry, guys.”

“Uh…” Chris says.

Allison turns and smiles. “Bye, Jared,” she says sweetly and Chris drops his head on her shoulder.

“I’ll just, uh, close the door.” He shuts it quickly before Allison replies and walks out of the common house. He looks up and sees Jensen walking toward him from his truck.

“Hey,” Jensen says.

“Dude, you will never in a million years guess what I just saw.”

“What?”

“Chris and Allison… making out.”

Jensen’s eyes widen and he grins. “You’re joking.”

“Swear to God.”

Jensen looks behind Jared to the common house, as if to look for proof. “You’re joking,” Jensen repeats.

“Still swearing to God.”

Jensen laughs. “I can’t believe it. Years, man, do you know how long we’ve waited for this?”

“Years?” Jared asks, repeating the answer Jensen gave to his own question.

“Yes! Jay, this just… makes my day, man. I’m about as happy as Chris is right now; maybe even happier.”

“Oh, really?” Jared dramatically shifts his eyes to Jensen’s crotch to see if Jensen really _is_ just as happy as Chris right now.

Jensen smacks him on the arm. “Later, cowboy. We’ve got some barbequing to do.”

///

Before night falls, they set up tables outside, and Mike shows up with steaks and beer, asking if the grill is ready for him.

“Who let Mike in charge of grilling?” Alan says. “That seems like a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Someone please keep an eye on him,” Donna calls as she lights a bonfire. “I’d like to keep the house from being burned to the ground.”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” Mike says. “I’d expect it from Alan, but not you, Donna. I thought we had something.”

“You’re going to get something if you set anything on fire,” Donna replies.

“Don’t worry; I’ll try to keep the inevitable fire under control.”

“Mike—“

“I’m kidding, Donna.” He walks over to her, placing a hand on her arm and kissing her cheek. It’s so out of character from the loud and brash Mike he’s gotten to know that Jared is stunned by the gesture. “Trust me.” He grins. “I wouldn’t jeopardize the risk of never tasting your carrot cake again.”

“Oh, stop the smooth talking. You’re going to make Tom jealous.”

Mike laughs. “He’ll get over it. He can’t cook worth shit, so he knows I gotta get the goods from somewhere.”

Tom walks by, laughing, and punches Mike in the arm.

“Watch it, Tommy,” Mike says, pointing at Tom, before rubbing where Tom hit him.

“I’ve got to agree with your dad, man,” Jared says when Jensen hands him a beer. “Mike and grilling seems like a bad idea. I thought that at the lake too.”

Jensen shrugs. “He’s a pyro, and a jackass sometimes, but he’ll be alright.”

Once again, Mike doesn’t do too badly. The steak is great, if he’s honest with himself, and there are baked potatoes and grilled veggies too. Plus Donna made apple cake, which quite possibly makes her Jared’s favorite person in existence.

Chris and Allison are both rather quiet at dinner, though they’ve got megawatt smiles plastered on their faces, and Allison keeps blushing whenever she looks at Jared. He wants to give them a hard time, but he’s worried that what they’ve finally accomplished might be too fragile to bother with jokes and jibes.

After dinner he sits down at the fire, his feet bare and warming from the flames’ heat. He’s already had a few beers, but he only has a small buzz working. Jensen comes up and plops down next to him, offering a stick for marshmallows since Jared also insisted on s’mores to celebrate.

Jared’s marshmallow catches on fire and Jared brings it closer to himself so he can watch it burn. He waits till it blackens completely before blowing it out and pressing it between chocolate and graham crackers.

“You just completely burned that poor thing,” Jensen says. Jensen’s marshmallow is only lightly browned on the edges.

“It’s better that way, dude,” Jared replies. Jensen wrinkles his nose in protest and Jared laughs. Jensen’s got melted chocolate on his fingers from putting his own s’more together, and if they were alone right now, Jared would be taking care of that for him. Jensen seems to follow Jared’s train of thought because when he swipes his tongue over his thumb, it’s slow and deliberate, and a small smile crosses Jensen’s face.

Jared eats so many roasted marshmallows and s’mores that he’s almost too full, but in a good way. Jensen stays seated beside him, handing Jared another beer or a new marshmallow every once in a while, fingers resting on Jared’s skin a few seconds longer than necessary in the dark.

Chris and Allison leave first, of course, to head back to the common house. Everyone else in the group starts trickling off, and Alan asks Jensen if he would put out the fire before heading to bed himself.

Jensen takes care of the fire as Jared picks up the trash left from the s’mores and the dinner, though they decide to get the tables in the morning.

“See you in the morning?” Jared asks.

Jensen shakes his head. “We’ve got plans tonight, remember?”

Right. Jared sort of forgot in the haze of food and beer. Jensen steps closer, putting his hand on Jared’s chest, lazy smile on his face. Warmth spreads in Jared’s gut, making him lightheaded with just how fucking good it feels to be with Jensen like this. Jensen leans his head against Jared’s shoulder and his hands move to Jared’s back.

“Jay?” Jensen asks, voice small and muffled against Jared’s shirt.

“Yeah?”

“Glad you’re here.” He probably wouldn’t say it if he wasn’t a bit on the drunken side, but he did say it, and Jared’s glad to hear it.

“Yeah, Jen, me too,” Jared whispers. He brings his hand to Jensen’s jaw, turning Jensen’s face upward so that he can kiss him. Jared wants to keep it slow this time; get lost in the lazy motions, slow brushes of skin against skin, alcohol once again making movements heavy and prolonged. Every time since the lake has been rushed – hasty hand jobs, stolen kisses.

They’re still outside though and they’re nowhere near any place that’s safe to take this any farther. Hell, this isn’t exactly the brightest idea either, making out in the open space between the two houses.

But, _God_ , Jared’s too tipsy to care, loving Jensen’s lips – full and soft against Jared’s mouth, so pretty when wrapped around Jared’s cock. Jared moans softly when Jensen’s tongue touches his own, and Jensen’s hips press against Jared’s.

Jared keeps thinking how good it’ll be if they can just stop for the minute it will take them to get to Jared’s room. He softens his grip on Jensen’s back, assuming that Jensen will get the picture, but Jensen’s mouth never leaves Jared.

“Uh, Jensen?”

The voice brings Jared to his senses and he jerks away from Jensen, waiting for the wisecrack that’s sure to follow. Jared turns, ready to heckle Mike or Chris and tell him to back the fuck off ‘cause he’s busy, but when he moves, it’s Alan standing there. Not Mike or Chris. Alan.

 _Fuck_.

Jensen gasps, and Jared instantly sobers, his heart just aching for Jensen, because this isn’t the way Jensen should come out to his father. Jensen said he needed time, and he’s not going to get it now. Jared remembers when he did this; when he sat his family in the living room and told them while standing up because he was too fidgety to sit still.

“Jensen—“ Alan begins, but Jensen cuts him with a nervous laugh.

“Dad, I lost this stupid bet to Mike tonight, and the asshole thought it’d be funny if my losses involved having to, uh, make out with Jared.” He turns to Jared, his eyes wide and scared, and his smile forced. “Sorry about that, man. I mean, I know that you actually sometimes… yeah.” He laughs again. “Sorry.”

Jared’s face falls, his gut twisting as he takes in Jensen’s carelessly spoken words. He wants to feel bad for Jensen; he does. He _did_ 30 seconds ago, but fuck this. Jensen just turned their relationship into a fucking game with Mike, and even Mike wouldn’t be cruel enough to play it.

“A bet?” Jared asks, giving Jensen a way out of this, a way to say _Just kidding, Dad! There’s a bit more to it than that._

“Yeah,” Jensen answers softly, his eyes on neither Jared nor Alan.

“Jared,” Alan says, and Jared looks at him. Alan’s posture is tense and his jaw is clenched, and Jared’s not sure if his anger is directed toward Jared, toward Jensen _and_ Jared, or toward Jensen alone for playing this bet on Jared.

Jared’s mad at himself for all three – for opening himself up to Jensen in the first place.

“Yes, sir,” Jared finally answers Alan after a long moment.

“It’s getting late, son.” Alan’s voice holds no anger, and Jared releases a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. “Why don’t you head to bed and we’ll see you in the morning for breakfast?”

That’s right; tomorrow’s Saturday. He doesn’t even want to think about having to face Jensen in front of everybody first thing in the morning. “Yes, sir,” Jared replies again and walks away without even glancing in Jensen’s direction.

///

Jared can’t sleep, of course. He’s tossing and turning, and his stomach is sick with all of the emotions racing through his body. He tried to read to maybe take his mind off of things. He had picked up some of the information on equine veterinarian medicine a few days ago that he had not cracked open yet, but his mind just can’t focus.

He keeps replaying what happened over and over in his mind – Jensen’s gasp, his nervous laughter, that fucking horrible lie.

Jared _knows_ how hard it is to face your family with something this big, but Jensen flat out lied to Alan when it was obvious that Jensen was enthusiastically enjoying himself when his dad found them. And Jared was willing to stand beside Jensen during the incident, to support him when Jensen finally let his father, and then the rest of his family, know the truth.

There’s a knock on the door. It’s too early for anyone to be getting ready yet, so Jared’s not sure who it is. Some small part of him wants it to be Jensen; the rest of him is praying that it isn’t.

Jared opens the door and Jensen is standing there barefoot in athletic shorts and a t-shirt.

“Jared, I—“

“Fuck off,” Jared replies. He doesn’t shut the door, though he should; he really should. He goes back to his bed and crawls under the comforter.

“I’m sorry.”

“I said _fuck off_.” Jared turns away from Jensen, closing his eyes and just wishing that Jensen would go away. He hears nothing for a few minutes besides Jensen’s harsh breathing and his own heart pounding in his ears.

The silence is suffocating. Jared feels as if he’s got his toes over a cliff and he’s just waiting for someone to push him over. Jensen finally clears his throat, and it’s almost funny how the sound relieves a bit of the pressure. Then Jared finally hears footsteps and the door closing.

He lies still – wondering if Jensen is still there, but after a few moments of complete quiet, Jared turns around and stares at the door, refusing to admit that he wished that Jensen had stepped up and made Jared listen to him.

He closes his eyes again, but hoping for sleep tonight is a losing battle.

///

The next morning isn’t as awkward as Jared thought it would be, but that could be because he’s in a sleep deprived daze. It might not be that awkward because even though Jared walks into Donna’s kitchen for breakfast with his shirt on inside out and a pair of gym shorts on, Donna gives him a sweet smile and tells him good morning.

The main reason it isn’t that awkward, though, is because Jensen isn’t there. Jared’s eyes nervously scan the kitchen to see just how the morning after is going to be, and he’s surprised when there’s nothing to see. No one is even acting like anything is wrong or that something happened. It’s just like any other Saturday morning except Jensen isn’t there to sit next to him and let Jared steal bacon off of his plate.

“You look tired, honey,” Donna asks, “You alright?”

 _No, I’m not_. “Yeah, yeah, just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Jared answers. Erica raises her eyebrows and giggles, fucking _giggles_ , and Jared finally gets it.

No one actually knows. Alan isn’t there either and Jared realizes that Jensen and Alan haven’t said anything to anyone. He takes a deep breath and asks the question he has wanted to ask since he walked in the door.

“Where’s Jen?”

“He went with Alan and Mike to take a couple of horses to Mike’s boss. They’ll probably be back some time tonight unless they decide to stay the night there.”

Jared releases the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. He’s relieved, yeah, because facing Jensen after last night’s debacle isn’t number one on his list right now. At the same time though, he’s irritated. Jared came here ready to face everyone after what had happened, assuming that they already knew because Lord knows news travels fast on this ranch. Yet Jensen ran off. Jensen told Jared yesterday that Mike and Alan were going out of town, but he didn’t say anything about tagging along. This was a spur of the moment decision.

Jared sits down to eat with the rest of the crew, using his lack of sleep to excuse his less than cheery manner. Even though emotions don’t normally affect his appetite, he doesn’t eat very much. He expects someone to call him on it, but no one does.

He gives the best smile he can to Donna to thank her for breakfast, and heads out to the third stable to start his work for the morning.

“You need some help?”

Jared turns around and Chris is standing there, looking almost hesitant which is a weird look to see on Chris Kane’s face.

Jared shrugs. “Sure, man. Just started in this stall. You can start in the next one.”

Chris nods, but he just takes a step forward instead of moving to the other stall. “Jensen called me.”

Jared doesn’t mean to groan aloud, but it slips out anyway.

“He told me what happened.”

“Yeah?” Jared asks because he’s not quite sure what else to say.

“Listen, man, he… Jensen fucked up. He did. That was just epic level of asshole. Jensen’s shy and he freaks out at the wrong place in the wrong time, but that’s fucked up even for him.”

Jared doesn’t have much to say to that, so he turns around to continue mucking out the stall.

“But Jared, he’s sorry. He really, really is. He knows he fucked up and he knows that he’s hurt you. I don’t know what he’s gonna do when he gets back tomorrow. I don’t know if he’s ever going to come out to his family or not, though I can sure as hell tell you that Alan knows it wasn’t just a fucking bet. Alan’s not stupid.

“I told you this the other day,” Chris continues. “I think you’re good for him and I like you, Jay. You’ve been good for the ranch and you’ve been good for Jen. So give him another chance.”

Jared stops working and looks up, wiping the sweat from his forehead on the edge of his sleeve.

“I can’t just say yes to that, you know?” Jared replies. “I’ve never expected Jensen to come out to his family, ‘cause I’ve done that before, and it sucks. My family was mostly supportive of it, and it still sucked. But Jensen told me that if they ever confronted him about it, that he wouldn’t lie to his family. Alan saw Jensen with his tongue down my throat; there’s no lying your way out of that one. Yet he did it anyways, and he just… he fucking made light of the fact that I’m gay. Like it’s some big fucking joke.”

Chris nods, looking down at his feet. “I know. If you can’t work through this, I get it, man. I do. I just wanted to let you know that he does feel like shit. What he said was wrong, but he didn’t mean it that way. He was an asshole, but it was just that shy panic attack that he gets sometimes.” Chris finally walks over to the other stall to help Jared. “Oh, and Jared?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks… for the other day, I mean. About Ally. You were, uh, obviously right.”

Despite how he feels, Jared can’t stop the small smile that tugs on his lips. “Hasn’t everyone been telling you that for years?”

“Shut up, man. I’m thanking you. No need for you to give me a fucking hard time.”

///

Jared spends the majority of the day thinking things over – replaying the incident with Jensen as well as his conversation with Chris over and over in his head. He’s still hurting, still angry about what Jensen did, but fuck, he’s starting to miss him too; missing his laugh and his jokes, even his shyness, which got them in this mess in the first place.

Can’t he just stay angry? It’d be a hell of a lot easier.

He goes to bed early – his body is exhausted from lack of sleep and two days worth of work in the sun. He’s worried that he’ll spend another night restless and unhappy, but he falls asleep before he even pulls the blanket over himself.

When he wakes up, it’s still dark and there’s a hand resting on his shoulder.

“Jay? Wake up.”

“Jensen?”

“Yeah,” Jensen replies, and he crawls into the bed behind Jared and wraps his arms around him. Maybe it’s the fogginess of sleep or maybe Jared is too curious for Jensen’s excuse or explanation, but he lets Jensen do it, and he leans back into the embrace.

They lie like that for a few minutes, no sound except their breathing and crickets calling outside the window. Jared’s almost asleep when he hears that tell-tale double breath that Jensen always takes right before he speaks.

“I’m sorry, Jay.” It’s barely a whisper, but even if Jared couldn’t hear it, he would have known what Jensen said anyways. Jared doesn’t reply – doesn’t trust himself to not say something stupid that will fuck things up even more. He can’t say, _it’s okay_ because it’s not okay; not at all.

“I told my parents,” Jensen continues. “About me. About us.”

Jared inhales sharply, his body stiffening with shock. He wasn’t expecting that at all. He turns around because he has to see Jensen, has to see if he’s okay and how he’s handling everything. Jensen is wearing his glasses, and his eyes are red and a bit puffy, though they aren’t wet with tears.

“How did it go?” Jared asks, swiping his thumb along Jensen’s cheek as if erasing the tears that trailed it earlier.

Jensen laughs, quick and unhappy. “They said they already knew. They’d… they’d always sort of wondered about me and they knew that we… yeah. So… Mom started crying though, and she asked…” Jensen trails off and looks down, his breath hitching like he’s getting upset again.

“Jen, you don’t have to tell me.” And his heart aches for Jensen because he _knows_ what this is like. What happened last night still presses heavily on his chest, but he didn’t have this support when he came out to his family, and he knows that Jensen needs that.

Jensen shakes his head and takes another deep breath. “She said that it was okay and that they still loved me, but she wanted to know if she had done something wrong for me to turn out…” He stops himself again and Jared lets him take his time to continue if he wants. “You don’t know how shitty I’ve felt all day, Jay. I can’t believe I fucking did that to you.”

Jared nods and presses his forehead against Jensen’s, his hands cupping Jensen’s face. His stomach’s in knots over Jensen’s confession, over last night, over Jensen pressed tightly against him.

“Jared, please,” Jensen whispers and presses a chaste kiss against Jared’s lips. “Let me make it up to you, please.” His arms wind tighter around Jared’s body as he continues to kiss Jared softly.

Jared’s head is swimming with what’s right and what’s wrong and oh fuck, Jensen just feels so good against him and Jensen’s mouth – he’s missed Jensen’s mouth. Jared’s kissing back before he even realizes it, his tongue opening up Jensen’s lips, and the way Jensen curves into him, surrendering to Jared with his body makes Jared moan.

Their kisses and movements against one another are rougher than Jared can remember them ever being, and he knows it’s because of what has happened to both of them; needing things to be forceful for once to get these two days out of their system. His hands move to Jensen’s belt and his fingers fumble with want and need and pent-up anger.

“ _Fuck_ , Jen, help me,” he pleads, and Jensen bats his hand away to take care of it himself.

“Get undressed,” Jensen says, and it only takes seconds for Jared to get out of his shorts and t-shirt. He leans on his elbow, jaw resting in the curve of his palm as Jensen looks down at Jared’s cock and takes his own shirt off with deliberate and teasing slowness.

“I don’t think now’s the time for that,” Jared says, and Jensen smirks at him, as if Jared doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He starts pulling his belt from the loops one, excruciatingly slow inch at a time, and Jared’s had enough. He leans forward and grabs Jensen’s arms, pulling him on top of the bed before flipping him so that Jensen’s on his back.

Jared leans down and swipes his tongue over one of Jensen’s nipples, pulling it with his teeth and Jensen’s gasp is fucking music to his ears. He unbuttons and unzips Jensen’s pants and rubs his palm firmly against Jensen’s erection.

“Jared,” Jensen breathes, and Jared curls his fingers around Jensen’s cock in response. Jared leans forward to kiss Jensen’s neck, grazing the skin with his teeth, when he feels Jensen’s fingers trail over the head of his cock. Jared closes his eyes, concentrating on how good it feels, but God, Jensen is such a tease tonight.

“Can’t tease me; not tonight,” Jared says hoarsely in Jensen’s ear and he hears Jensen laugh a little in reaction, the pressure of his fingers on Jared’s cock lessening. “Gonna fuck you,” Jared whispers and he is surprised by his own boldness.

Jensen’s laugh turns into a groan and Jared tightens his hold on Jensen’s dick. “Yeah… you want that? Want me to fuck you?” Jared asks. Another moan from Jensen and Jared presses his thumb against the slit of Jensen’s cock. “Come on, say it. Know you want it, Jen.”

Jensen closes his eyes and opens his mouth to speak.

“No, Jensen,” Jared says. Jensen is finally returning the favor Jared is bestowing on Jensen’s cock by gripping Jared’s dick tighter in his hand and tugging it with a sweet and good rhythm. “Look at me and tell me.” Jensen looks up at Jared, and bites his lip. “Come on.”

“Fuck me,” Jensen finally says, his voice ragged, and Jared didn’t think his cock could get any harder, but that sure as hell helped it along.

“Yeah,” Jared responds and kisses Jensen again. They’re both breathless when Jensen pulls away and looks around the room.

“You’ve got something? I wasn’t expecting…” Jensen laughs nervously. “I didn’t come prepared.”

Jared nods and moves to get his duffle bag under the bed. He knew, hoped, at least, that they’d get to this point eventually, and he didn’t want the stupidity of not being ready to get in the way.

Jared pours the lube on his fingers and rubs them together to warm it up a bit. Jensen spreads his legs as Jared kneels on the bed again and Jared kisses the curve of Jensen’s knee as he teases his finger over Jensen’s hole.

“You sure?” Jared asks, realizing that Jensen thinks he’s probably bipolar because Jared practically forced him on the bed two minutes ago, and now Jared’s nervous and uncertain. Jared hasn’t exactly done this before though.

“Yes,” Jensen says, more assuredly than Jared would have expected. Jared presses his index finger in slowly and watches Jensen’s face as he bites his lips. Jared runs his left hand along Jensen’s thigh slowly as he presses in another finger. Jensen’s eyes are closed now, and he takes deep breaths while Jared stretches him. He crooks his finger and pushes, eliciting a gasp from Jensen’s mouth that makes Jared shiver.

“Another?” Jared asks, and Jensen nods. Jared stretches him as much as he can, occasionally pressing against that spot, enjoying the moans Jensen makes as he does so.

He slides the condom on his dick and slicks it up messily with lube. He grabs the underside of Jensen’s knee and pushes Jensen’s leg forward until it almost hits his chest. He doesn’t ask this time, knowing that Jensen will say yes if he does. He slides the head of his cock in, _tight_ heat surrounding it and he can’t help but to whimper with how good it feels. The temptation to just drive forward and to feel Jensen around him right the fuck now is almost overwhelming, but he stays still until Jensen nods for him to continue. Inch by inch, Jared moves forward, his chest moving quicker and quicker as he attempts to hold himself together, and not come before they even really get started.

“Okay, Jen?” Jared asks, breathless, when his balls finally press against Jensen’s ass.

“Fuck, just do it, Jared,” Jensen replies, and Jared moves out and thrusts back in, each movement quicker than the last until Jared knows he’s hitting just the right spot. Jensen is moaning beneath him and the cheap mattress is squeaky with every movement. The whole fucking common house can probably hear them, but Jared just doesn’t give a shit.

“So good, Jensen, so good,” Jared groans, and he’s getting closer and closer, but he wants Jensen there first, wants that to be the thing that sends him over the edge. “Touch yourself,” he says in Jensen’s ear and then pulls away to watch Jensen curl his hand around his own cock. Jensen is closer than Jared thought because two tugs and Jensen is coming, his stomach and fingers becoming slick with come as he clenches around Jared’s cock.

Jensen brings his thumb to Jared’s mouth, and it sends Jared over the edge, as electric pleasure shoots through his groin, and his movements slow as he rides it out. He pulls out of Jensen slowly, mindful of the winces Jensen makes as he does so, and ties off the condom before throwing it in the general direction of the trashcan.

He grabs the edge of the sheet to clean off Jensen’s chest before he lies down and grabs Jensen’s arm to pull Jensen against him.

It’s funny how a few hours ago, Jared thought he’d never have this with Jensen; too blinded with hurt and anger to ever see past the current situation. And maybe Jared shouldn’t have done this, maybe he should have let his heart heal a bit before letting Jensen kiss him and talk him into other things.

His mind is saying that, but his body isn’t and his heart isn’t either. So Jared just lets it go for the time being. He’s okay with where he is right now.

“Apology accepted?” Jensen asks, his voice already thick with sleep.

Jared smiles. “Yeah.”

///

“Jay, how much shit do you have anyways?” Mike asks as he loads another box into Jared’s truck.

“A lot of it’s books, man,” Jared replies. “Remember? I’m going to school, and doing an internship, and therefore have to read up on things occasionally.“

“Yeah, you’re going to school in a week. No sense in looking at this shit before then.”

If there’s anything that Jared hates more than Texas in July, it’s Texas in August. The sun is a heavy, constant heat against his skin, and he feels like he should be drinking water by the gallon.

“And where’s your boyfriend anyways, Sasquatch? Should he be helping you pack up?”

“Right here, Princess,” Jensen answers, carrying his own box out of the common house. “Last box,” he says to Jared as he puts it in the truck.

Everyone is at his truck to say goodbye, and Sadie’s already in the front seat and ready to go. School starts in a week, and Jared is meeting his family in Austin to set up his new apartment. Jensen wanted to come help, but Jared told him to stay on the ranch, and that he can come when everything is set up.

Donna forces a bag of leftovers and a whole batch of cookies into his hand before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He shakes hands with both Alan and Jim, and both Erica and Allison tell him he’s not allowed to leave, to which Jensen agrees. Tom pulls him into a warm hug and tells Jared that he’s going to be a great vet one day, and Mike swings his arm around Jared’s neck and demands that Jared let Mike stay with him when he rodeos in Austin. Chris hugs him too, thanking him for helping Chris with “you know what,” before laughing and picking up Allison to make her squeal.

Jensen comes around the driver’s side of the truck with him and puts his arms around Jared’s waist before kissing his neck.

“Next week, right?” Jensen asks, confirming when he’s going to visit Jared.

“Right, or whenever you want.” Jared laughs. “We might not make it that long.”

Jensen kisses his lips softly. “I’ll miss ya, cowboy.”

“You’re always calling me that. Shouldn’t that be _your_ name?”

Jensen shrugs. “I think you’ve earned the title.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story was out of my normal writing style and range in many ways, and I don’t think I could have done it without everyone thanked below. :)
> 
> First of all, thanks to my amazing betas: savingfaith333 really saved the day and betaed this sucker so quickly I can’t even believe it; thank you so much for the help, I owe you big! Thanks to egotists for making sure the boys were emoting nicely and that everything flowed just fine; and also for making me feel a bit better about the story.
> 
> Thank you, cybel, for picking this story and creating the great art that went with it. I am so in love with Indigo and Wesson; thank you so much!
> 
> wie_gehts read this so many times, gave me books on horses, answered 100 questions, and just helped a bunch; thanks, Ash. A huge thanks to nachekana for reading this story about 20 times, and for listening to me bitchalmost daily about my writing or how the fic was turning out. You saved my sanity so many times. Thank you, mrstotten for reading through this and being so supportive. unreckless, thank you for reading through it and helping me with that pesky plot hole. tru_faith_lost, thanks for the encouragement and for giving horse-related advice. azrielle_jones, thanks for giving me SO many amazing ideas, such as Tom as the farrier and Mike as a rodeo cowboy. I don’t think this story would be what it is without your suggestions.
> 
> Also, thanks to autumn_lilacs, batmanboxers, and kathleen_hp for not only listening to me whine and squee about this story constantly, but for also offering suggestions and encouragement.
> 
> And last, but certainly not least, thanks to the amazing mods at spn_j2_bigbang for creating such a wonderful fanfiction challenge and for keeping everything running smoothly.
> 
> One last thing. I don’t think I could have written this story without [this book](http://www.amazon.com/Your-Pony-Horse-Cherry-Hill/dp/0882669087). I knew NOTHING about horses before this story, and this children’s book was a lifesaver. <3<3<3 Thanks to for letting me borrow it. [This website](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/20771/life_on_a_working_ranch.html?cat=7) also helped me very, very much as well.


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